A thoroughly enjoyable album.

It's not just the Nashville elite who deliver the best Country Music, with Australia having a more than healthy scene of its own – something any Keith Urban fan will attest to. Adam Eckersley came to prominence as a touring guitarist with the mega-selling Aussie all-girl Country trio The McClymonts (he's also married to lead singer Brooke McClymont) which brought him to the attention of Universal Music Australia, resulting in a major label release for his official debut 'The First Album'. As 'The Second Album' demonstrates, excusing a lack of originality regarding album titles, the Adam Eckersley Band have produced a pretty decent Country Rock record with a Southern edge.

Although it bears Eckersley's name, it is undoubtedly very much a band effort with a lot of care and attention going into the arrangements and performances, unlike many of the manufactured Country stars of today. A talented guitarist for sure, yet solos are frequently handed out to his compatriots while his wife also appears as harmony vocalist and duettist on the cover of the Neil Young ballad 'Comes A Time'. Eckersley displays a penchant for storytelling lyrics, oft wistful, occasionally Bruce Springsteen-esque, as he laments modern life, though family is very much close at heart.

The likes of 'Mocha' and the slightly cloying 'Hey Little Daughter' may drift too far into pure Country territory for some, but on the plus side, the guitar-based 'Live On', 'Talk About Love', the Blues Rock of 'Good Night' and the slow-burning 'Devil's Lullaby' will more than compensate. The epic Southern-tinged 'Took That Woman' and the simply great 'Wheels' (check out the video on YouTube) are worth the admission price alone.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable album and I think I will have to purchase 'The First Album' to tide me over until 'The Third Album' appears.

Ant Heeks