Americana at its most real, you’re along for a ride through stories and conversations about love and relationships good, bad and ugly that keep your attention and put you in a much better mood by the time you reach your destination.
Tracklist
Click a title page link to view song details:
Liner Notes
© ℗ 2008 by Scott Cooley. All rights reserved. Words & music for all songs written by Scott Cooley. Lead & background vocals, lead & rhythm acoustic guitar, scratch guitar, acoustic bass guitar, acoustic lap steel slide guitar, harmonica, drums, percussion, cowbell, coffee brewing/pouring/drinking & whistling by Scott Cooley. Recorded, mixed, mastered & produced by Scott Cooley in Michigan, USA. Additional background vocals & photo of Scott w/ Lucky by Lenore Cooley.
Album Art
photo courtesy Lenore Louise Cooley 2008 - not my El Cam (I've never had one, just posed by my neighbors), but that is my dog Lucky
The Grand Trunk Western Railroad train overpass above Fenton Road in Flint that has been spray painted over as 'Grand Funk' with 'Mark, Don & Mel' above it for decades now. Click the thumbnail above to view the larger, more readable image.
Streaming
Information
Behind The Music
Throughout is a loose theme of travel, so hopefully these help move you. The last album was sort of about boats, and since I'm from the car state and vehicle city, this sort of subject matter was inevitable. Behind the music were personal experiences, observations, and things I just plain made up. When I was much younger, I used to say that the two kinds of music I didn't like were country and rap, but this album has both - new as compared with past releases. Tastes evolve, but at the same time this album includes a lot of what you've come to expect from a Scott Cooley album - the voice, the prominent sound of acoustic guitar, the understated percussion, the melodies and lyrics that blend well, and the little surprise elements here and there that make you go "yeah!" and pump your fist or whatever it is you do when you're psyched about the good tunes you're listening to. See the song pages for the stories behind each song.
Americana songs to keep you company while on the road, with unique twists on relationships and a dash or two of humor. Catchy acoustic road rock that blends heartfelt themes with songs bordering on the novelty variety, touching on genres that include folk, country, old timey, latin, and balladry.
It’s about the journey. Whether you prefer to call it roots music, alternative country, or folk-rock, Drive Time Companion represents Americana at its finest. If heartland rock and garage rock could be delivered with all acoustic instruments, you’d be on your way to describing it well, and when you throw in the diversity of western and even rap, you’ve got an album of variety that will appeal to an even wider audience. Cooley takes you along for the ride through stories and conversations about love and relationships good, bad and ugly. The underlying theme of travel on this album will keep your attention and keep you company while on the road, putting you in a much better mood by the time you reach your destination.
Featuring unique twists on relationships with a dash or two of humor, this is catchy road rock that blends heartfelt themes with songs bordering on the novelty variety. A slight departure from the acoustic rock for which he is known, Scott has ventured out from his initial success with the bluesy stylings on his album Moon Dreams, and further from the demand for a sequel to the caribbean flavor of the Lakeside Landing album, to take roads less traveled through varieties of Americana and even rap. These songs share a common theme of being particularly well-suited for listening to in your car - whether in rush hour traffic or on a long weekend road trip, this album will hold your attention and take your mind off the driving for an hour or so - long enough to get you past any worries you started out with, and taking you along for the ride through great stories and melodies delivered with Scott's signature acoustic instrumentation. Before you know it, you’re that much closer to where you want to be and in a much better mood.
Press Release
Scott Cooley Releases New Album, Drive Time Companion
EAST LANSING, MI June 21, 2008 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Scott Cooley Records is proud to announce a new record album of outstanding original acoustic rock and roll compositions entitled Drive Time Companion. Currently being offered to those in the music industry who might want to help expose his songs, non-performing songwriter Scott Cooley has self-released this, his fourth major record album, Drive Time Companion, and the third release on his independent label known as Scott Cooley Records. Based in Michigan, Scott's songwriting has garnered awards such as an honorable mention in the Billboard Song Contest.
About the album, Scott said, "To toot my own horn so to speak, you will enjoy primarily positive, occasionally humorous, always clever and purely fictional stories and conversations that provide unique twists on subjects of love and relationships in the form of mostly uptempo acoustic rock songs…with enough variety to hold your attention for 49 minutes or so. The most common theme I had in mind when I wrote these songs was that I intended the album as a whole to be good for keeping you company while you're on the road. Maybe listening will let you relax during a stressful rush hour commute, or remind you of a happy place where there's not too much traffic, where you can take it slow, and wherever you go seems familiar to you. With each listen, you'll likely be pleasantly surprised to discover new nuances you didn't before. Aside from getting you through some tough times, you might also find a good time to play this is when you're ready to party, or maybe even when you're making a getaway from the everyday grind and heading up north. Whatever your journey or state of mind, this CD is always available to perk you up like a good cup of coffee."
This is yet another strong offering and addition to his growing catalog of promotional compilation discs (considered major demonstration recording LP releases of all original material). Scott's catalog has grown to over 300 songs that are available for publishing/licensing or for artists/bands to record (in most cases, the masters are also available). Other albums previously released include Scott Cooley (2000), Homegrown (2002), Moon Dreams (2004), and Lakeside Landing (2006).
Flint, Michigan-area music journalist Rich Marr had this to say about Drive Time Companion: "...the last song on the CD, Too Close For Comfort, was exceptional and one of Scott's top two or three all-time best songs, and the rest were pretty much all keepers."
Drive Time Companion is available for purchase from several major online music stores, including iTunes, Rhapsody and Amazon.com as an MP3 album or individual song track downloads; or by mail order as compact disc in high-quality wave format directly from his Web site. See www.scottcooley.com/store for complete details. Contact Scott at www.scottcooley.com/contact to arrange for a mutually-convenient time for a telephone interview. Consult the pages on www.scottcooley.com for electronic press kit materials that include a wealth of additional information such as high resolution photographs and a detailed biography.
UPC: 886470423767