Songwriter, vocalist and musician Danny McGuinness is an uncommonly versatile artist who can move fluidly between full-on rock and roll to solo acoustic. Critics and listeners have compared McGuinness’ powerhouse vocals to Jim Morrison, Eddie Vedder and Bono. He’s a mesmerizing live performer whose stage presence combines both a down-to-earth and a larger-than-life quality. Like his music, he is at once accessible and majestic.

McGuinness began his career by fronting the hard-rock/progressive band Coven of Thieves in the early nineties. The band’s incendiary live performances garnered quite a following in the U.S. as well as Europe. McGuinness then co-founded the more mainstream power rock/melodic pop band Icos. Icos released a debut album, Incurable Contact, and later signed to Mercury/Slipdisc and released the critically-acclaimed At the Speed of Life, which was recorded at the legendary Abbey Road studios. When Mercury was bought by Seagram’s in the late nineties, McGuinness negotiated a release from his record deal and, partnered with former Slipdisc execs, established Heatshield Records. McGuinness has released two solo albums this year on Heatshield. The first, what it is, bowed in April, and is a blend of genres with an emphasis on rock and production.

McGuinness’ upcoming release, Room 809, began as a casual demo recording session in the Bel Age hotel (that’s right, in room 809) where McGuinness and his musical collaborator guitarist Kent Van Der Kolk unexpectedly found themselves in the midst of a sonic winning streak. The chemistry was palpable, Van Der Kolk’s improvisational solos soared track after track; McGuinness had to stop himself from offering congratulations in order to keep singing. Over a period of several hours, surrounded by friends and six-packs of beer, the team nailed 10 songs in less than two takes each. The next morning recording engineer Brett Merritt called Danny to say, simply, “You’ve got an album in the can, bro.”

It’s a real pleasure to hear an acoustic album that was recorded the old-fashioned way, live, no hiding, no dressing it up. The magic the duo experienced that night definitely comes through – listen to it once and you’ll want to hear the whole thing again and again. It’s such a fluid piece of work that no one track stands out among the others; each is compelling enough to be a favorite. There is an urgency and raw emotion in this release, which showcases McGuinness’ tough and tender vocals backed by Van Der Kolk’s stunning musicianship. McGuinness’ evocative storytelling shows up on the mythic-seeming “Designed” and the murderer’s tale “Whiskey”, while “Good Rain” and “Monday Coming Round” bring a bittersweet and prophetic message of hope. “Justified Loser” and “Breathe” express the songwriter’s more sardonic side, as illustrated in the chorus of “Breathe“, “So you think I need therapy/ maybe you’re right, I’m fucked up as I can be/ but you know that’s fine with me/ because when I’m alone I can breathe.” “The Road Ahead’ has a tasty rhythm matched by inspired, biting lyrics, and hints at a vocal range that justifies the Bono comparison. To balance it all out, an urgent tenderness can be heard in “Forever Be Mine” and “Waiting for You.”

The CD is scheduled for release on November 23rd, and McGuinness and Van Der Kolk recently launched a national tour in support of Room 809 which will last through 2005.

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