For singer-songwriter Steve Azar, making music is a compulsion.
"I love playing now as much as I did the first time I ever performed," says the man known for such top country hits as "I Don't Have to Be Me ('Til Monday)" and "Waitin' on Joe." "At the end of the day, I want to make music. I love to write. I can’t wait to record. I still just love it, love it, love it. What is wrong with me? I’m addicted!"
During the past few years, Steve has been on a creative rampage. From his outpouring of songs has come his latest CD, Slide on Over Here.The come-on title refers both to the romance in some of the tunes and to the fact that the record is full of slide-guitar licks.
"Every note on this record is honest," says Steve. "When you see us live now, we sound exactly like our records. As I did on my last record, Indianola, I played a lot of guitar on this album. And so much of it comes straight out of my personality."
"Moo La Moo," the collection's rollicking first single, is a light-hearted look at money troubles. TV’s Gary Valentine, from King of Queens, co-stars in the song’s video. In it, he invented a "Moo La Moo" dance, which has recently become the subject of a second clip, a dance-instruction video.
"This album obviously has some serious stuff," comments Steve. "But it also has a lighter, fun side. I didn’t put this single out because of the economy. I just thought it was time to show a more loosened-up, less-serious side of me."
Slide on Over Here, does, indeed have its somber moments. "I'll Find Me" is haunting, lost and lonely. "Apart at the Seams" is broken and shuddering. The piano ballad “Beautiful Regret” is wistful and aching. On the other hand, the groove-soaked "Sinkin' or Swimmin' (With You)" has wry, rapid-fire lyrics in its steady-pulsing tempo. The shuffling, softly sung bopper "Startin' Today" offers hope amid sadness, and the airy, open, uplifting "Hard Road" finds reassurance despite tough times.
The album is the most emotionally complex one the artist has ever crafted. Steve yearns for his Mississippi homeland in the horn-punctuated "Sweet Delta Chains." The gently loping "Let Go of the Rope" contains wise advice. The atmospheric "Take Your Time" is sung to a girl who’s in a hurry to become a woman. The sweetly melodic "Sunshine" is as pretty a love song as Steve has ever sung. "All I Need" is a power ballad that begs a lover for a second chance. "Back to Memphis" beckons with tenderness.
"This record was highly influenced by my 2006-2007 tour with Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band," Steve adds. "Following our set, I would watch his show, just absorbing Bob and the band, and the feeling I got really helped define a true direction for this new album."
"I love playing now as much as I did the first time I ever performed," says the man known for such top country hits as "I Don't Have to Be Me ('Til Monday)" and "Waitin' on Joe." "At the end of the day, I want to make music. I love to write. I can’t wait to record. I still just love it, love it, love it. What is wrong with me? I’m addicted!"
During the past few years, Steve has been on a creative rampage. From his outpouring of songs has come his latest CD, Slide on Over Here.The come-on title refers both to the romance in some of the tunes and to the fact that the record is full of slide-guitar licks.
"Every note on this record is honest," says Steve. "When you see us live now, we sound exactly like our records. As I did on my last record, Indianola, I played a lot of guitar on this album. And so much of it comes straight out of my personality."
"Moo La Moo," the collection's rollicking first single, is a light-hearted look at money troubles. TV’s Gary Valentine, from King of Queens, co-stars in the song’s video. In it, he invented a "Moo La Moo" dance, which has recently become the subject of a second clip, a dance-instruction video.
"This album obviously has some serious stuff," comments Steve. "But it also has a lighter, fun side. I didn’t put this single out because of the economy. I just thought it was time to show a more loosened-up, less-serious side of me."
Slide on Over Here, does, indeed have its somber moments. "I'll Find Me" is haunting, lost and lonely. "Apart at the Seams" is broken and shuddering. The piano ballad “Beautiful Regret” is wistful and aching. On the other hand, the groove-soaked "Sinkin' or Swimmin' (With You)" has wry, rapid-fire lyrics in its steady-pulsing tempo. The shuffling, softly sung bopper "Startin' Today" offers hope amid sadness, and the airy, open, uplifting "Hard Road" finds reassurance despite tough times.
The album is the most emotionally complex one the artist has ever crafted. Steve yearns for his Mississippi homeland in the horn-punctuated "Sweet Delta Chains." The gently loping "Let Go of the Rope" contains wise advice. The atmospheric "Take Your Time" is sung to a girl who’s in a hurry to become a woman. The sweetly melodic "Sunshine" is as pretty a love song as Steve has ever sung. "All I Need" is a power ballad that begs a lover for a second chance. "Back to Memphis" beckons with tenderness.
"This record was highly influenced by my 2006-2007 tour with Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band," Steve adds. "Following our set, I would watch his show, just absorbing Bob and the band, and the feeling I got really helped define a true direction for this new album."
