Artist:     Dan Navarro

Album:     Shed My Skin

Label:     RedHen Records

Release Date:     3.8.2019

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If Dan Navarro, ever gets to grace the stage of the often wild and wooly VIva NashVegas radio show, held on outskirts of Music City, USA, you can be sure that affable host George Hamilton V, will be introducing him with the words, “Our next guest is a sensitive singer songwriter, who also sings sensitive songs.” Words George often uses when an artists like past guests Gary Morris “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Walter Egan “Magnet and Steel” or Michael Kelsh “Well Of Mercy” appear. I can say that because, I have just taken quite a long ride, more than a few times with Dan’s “Shed My Skin” CD. I can say, as Tom Rush once sang. “No Regrets.”

It’s truly a long ride, because there are no three minute ditties here. All 12 tunes (eight originals and four covers) average out at 5 minutes, If this southern Californian veteran songwriter had written the iconic R&B tune “Sixty Minute Man,” the first minute and a half would just be the instrumental intro, coupled with even more time devoted to a non-fading fade. He does just that with his cover of “Wichita Lineman,” a song that already had many melodic miles built in by Jimmy Webb. The reasons Navarro can get away with it is there are no label suits to tell him “No,” and he has 21 sympathetic and highly talented folks waxing these cuts with him. Some are longtime veterans like Danny Kortchmar, Leland Sklar and Freebo. All contribute to make the ride sonically quite nice, but at times you might be waiting for Dan to shift it into second gear, tempo-wise. Spoiler alert: that doesn’t happen. The wipers come on by cut two with “Night Full Of RainI” and you’re only halfway home before Let Her Ride takes her up over 50.

You can’t say that Navarro doesn’t warn you. The cover photo alone gives a strong hint of what’s on Navarro’s mind, as will song titles like, “Bullet Proof Heart,” “Arrows, Straight To The Heart,” and the duet with soul singer Janiva Magness, “You Drove Me Crazy.”

Riding shotgun with Navarro is his producer, guitarist, songwriter Steve Postell, (David Crosby, Jennifer Warnes, John Oates), so you know they didn’t need to stop and ask for directions. They had the songs, the passengers and just took their sweet time getting there.

— Ken Spooner