Rock singer and guitarist Myles Kennedy (Alter Bridge, Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators) releases his second solo album today (May 14, 2021) The Ides of March and it is an emotional and musical comfort that we all needed after such an exasperating year and a half. Kennedy has put together an unforgettable amalgamation of country, rock and blues that explodes one moment and tenderly impacts the next. The Ides Of March was inspired during the lockdown in 2020 when Kennedy had a tremendous amount of free time. Accustomed to being on tour, writing and recording with his band Alter Bridge and Slash & The Conspirators, Kennedy was once again in uncharted territory and through long walks and a chance to just stop and examine the world, the ideas flooded his mind and took shape quickly into the album we hear. While many similarities to Kennedy’s first solo record Year of the Tiger are apparent, The Ides of March emits a new milestone in his musical career. Produced by Michael “Elvis” Baskette, the heart and soul that we hear in every song Kennedy touches is brought to a more intimate type of record that should speak to everyone on a level they need to hear. In our recent interview with Kennedy, he classifies this album as a musical adventure and a lyrical journal.
If you have been able to check out some of the music videos to Kennedy’s single and opening track Get Along, the meaning hits home that things have just gone completely out of control and that it is possible to put our differences aside and all just get along. A Thousand Words opens with depth and sensitivity and Kennedy pulls out the heavier guitar to bring a bluesy rock memento. In Stride his tender, soft vocals and acoustic beginning standout and title track, The Ides of March flows into Spanish guitar and an unforgettably powerful chorus showcasing the upper range that Kennedy is known for. He belts out “So much is changing who we are, what we are, there’s no point in waiting, beware the ides of March,” as the song travels through different reverberations.
Wake Me When It’s Over shifts the album to Kennedy’s rock n’ roll core and simulates pieces of his signature sound as we slow down to Love Rain Down and rapidly take off into a frenzy of country blues and a little bit rockabilly with Tell It Like It Is. After a bit of heaviness with Sitting through the Fire, Kennedy ends The Ides of March with an affirmation in the final track Worried Mind through its soulful guitar solo and Kennedy’s consoling tone begs for the world to let him ease our worried minds. Vocally, this was the highlight of the album and a perfect ending of confirmation that music does heal and music does say what we can’t.
The Ides of March is prominent from a lyrical, technical and musical standpoint that transcends beyond the already impressive career of Myles Kennedy. This album was masterfully done and is undoubtedly the best thing to be born out of the lockdown.