I picked up the Winter of ’74 CD during Thursday’s concert.
After hearing lead singer Drew Montgomery pump out his vocals, Nelson Arblaster jam on the bass, Chris Mitchell rock on his guitar and Tim Smith pound out his drums, I was very excited to pick up the demo CD they were giving out free. And the demo didn’t disappoint.
To clear up a few things, the demo CD Winter of ’74 gave has the songs from their web site. If you don’t have the CD, go to www.purevolume.com/winterof74 and download the songs there. It’s something you might want to check out.
This demo is the start of great things for Winter of ’74. From beginning to the end, this CD is just one feel good, rock out, jamming good time.
The CD kicks off with the very hip and rocking tune “All You’ve Got.” Then it shifts into the track “Put This Thing Together,” which is a different sound from the first track but by no means is a weaker song. This track has its heavy influence on the drums, and Montgomery’s voice searches for an answer to his problem. This track works because of that reason. You can hear the loss and confusion and sometimes panic in his voice to just “put this thing together.”
“My Room” sounds like a mixture of the Hives and Coldplay. This song has equilibrium of vocals, drum and guitar. The solo in the middle is a great one and rare among rock music these days, as it seems the solo has slowly died out since the early ’90s.
Finally, the CD concludes with the track “It’s Over.” This is a great way to end the CD not because of the track name but because of the sound it brings. At some point the rhythm is off-beat but because of the way the song is written and played, it works.
This demo CD is a start of great things to come for Winter of ’74. They have a great band and a great sound.
The band plans on branching out and getting their sound heard in different places. Hopefully, something will work out for them, and they will get picked up by a studio and write more songs because this demo left me wanting more. If you don’t have the CD, it is a must have. It’s only four tracks, but it’s worth it.

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