The Company You Keep - EP

Album Review

Change and evolution are inevitable in music (imagine how shocked the recording artists of the 1890s would be if they could hear the recording artists of the 21st century), but retro musicians are equally inevitable. Any era is bound to have young musicians who long for the music of a previous era and a previous generation, and one era that the Morning Pages (a Brooklyn band that didn't exist until 2006) clearly identify with is the late '60s and early '70s. The Company You Keep, their debut EP, is a likable, country-influenced roots rock outing that recalls the days of the Allman Brothers, the Band, the Byrds, Leon Russell and the Flying Burrito Brothers. Earthy tracks like "It Makes Me Cry" and "With the Lord" aren't the least bit ironic; the songs on this 2006 recording/2007 release sound like they could have been written 35 or 37 years earlier. No one will accuse the Morning Pages of being innovative, but there is nothing wrong with being retro as long as you're good at what you do — and The Company You Keep is a good, worthwhile effort even though it falls short of exceptional. Listening to this 17-minute, five-song disc, one hears a lot of potential but gets the impression that the Morning Pages' best is yet to come. The Company You Keep is a release that makes listeners want to keep a close eye on the New York City-based roots rockers and see what will transpire on their first full-length album.