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Ed Maly: Best Kept Secrets

By Keith Hannaleck

Artist: Ed Maly
Title: Best Kept Secrets
Genre: Blues-Rock
Label: Hot Texas Tunes
Website: www.edmaly.com
Purchase this CD: CD Baby

Ed Maly follows up Walking Shoes Blues (2006) with a strong return to form on Best Kept Secrets. Ed’s signature guitar lines, distinctive blues soaked vocals, and humorous lighthearted lyrics once again demanded my attention and several spins just like the previous release.

There is not anything new going on here in regards to style and approach but he somehow escapes the old adage of “familiarity breeds contempt” by keeping you smiling and your feet moving.

This time around, Ed decided to open the album up with some of the fan’s favorite live cover cuts including “C.C. Rider", "Matilda", and "Barefootin.'" Ed is from Sugarland Texas and you can hear that good home cookin’ down to earth Texas hospitality come through in his music.

I found a lot of pleasure in “Mr. Ed,” a takeoff on the popular 60’s sitcom about a talking horse. I also love the fact that this artist does not take himself too seriously, which is exactly why he is so relaxed and is able to jump into every song and sound natural. Being who you really are is so obvious when you write and play music. “Give Me Back My Rib” turns out to be (no pun intended) a real rib tickler when Ed takes the place of Adam for the duration of the song asking Eve (referred to as woman) to please return his rib. It’s all for the fun of it and in the same instance you get a churnin’ and burnin’ blues-rocker. That always seems to be the result when Ed Maly cuts loose on one of his original compositions and I must say straight away the dude does a darn good job on the cover tunes as well.

This CD seems to go by real fast, which is usually the first indication of a good recording. If you are enjoying yourself with every track, it’s bound to fly by. As they say, time flies when you are having fun and never does the shoe fit better than when you listen to Ed Maly.

Reviewed - February 6, 2008

Tracks:

01. C.C. Rider
02. Matilda
03. Barefootin'
04. Bungalow 9
05. Mr. Ed
06. Give Me Back My Rib
07. Don't Start Me Talking
08. Tear a Honky Tonk Apart
09. Best Kept Secret
10. Hound Dog Cat
11. Howling

About the Author:

Keith Hannaleck, known as “MuzikMan” is a Journalist specializing in independent and major music reviews and the promotion of artists via the various media outlets flourishing online. He has worked closely with artists, management, publicity directors, and webmasters to provide some of the best and far-reaching coverage an artist could have. Focusing primarily on the internet as a medium for his work, Keith has been a pioneer in the industry changing the way a reviewer with his various talents are used by many artists, PR folks, and labels. He has provided strong and valuable work to labels, artists, and publicity people, writing reviews, press releases, and biographies and much more over the years, giving the people he works with the maximum amount of exposure through several top-notch websites that post his content on their sites.

Hannaleck built and maintained his own website in 1998 while networking and building his reputation through thousands of reviews and interviews, creating a special niche for himself. Through many years of dedication and hard work, he has reached a respected level of competence and knowledge that is frequently sought by the music industry today. Known for his speaking from the heart interpretations of music and being able to put it in layman’s terms for music fans, his work is found everywhere in cyberspace and in traditional print media, from press kits to quotes from reviews in magazine advertisements.