Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Made in Texas and it shows. Jesse Dayton plays some serious rockabilly guitar on The Revealer. Well to be honest, he also plays bass, percussion, keys, and backing harmonies. Definitely harkens back to the early days of rock n roll and country with images of Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, and The Possum (George Jones). Performed with precision, that style and sound never goes out of date. It sounds as current to me as it would have back in 1960. Dayton’s vocals are twangy and a perfect blend of country and rock n roll. His songs are upbeat and rocking and every one has hit potential. Well maybe not 3 Pecker Goat and I’m At Home Getting Hammered (While She’s Out Gettin’ Nailed). Not that they aren’t good songs, because they are. I am just not sure that the titles and content are radio friendly. But, Dayton is making music and writing songs that are meaningful to him, not for airplay. I respect that a lot.

His writing style is extremely honest and open. He throws everything out there. Again, much respect for that. Never Started Livin’ is a perfect example:

Lookin’ back on my wild years,

And all I put my folks through,

I could have turned out so much worse,

So I sowed a wild oat or two,

I was the spittin’ image of my old man,

And I charmed the ladies like some fancy Dan,

Still I Never started livin’ ‘til I started lovin’ you.

That’s pretty revealing. I admire Dayton’s honesty and ability to put his life experiences into words and song. He has a real song writing talent. He displays these revealing talents in the opening track as well, Daddy Was A Bad Ass. A biographical tale about his father who was a larger than life figure. He writes about his father gambling to pay his college tuition and quitting smoking cold turkey after 40 years, just like that. He built a good business and then lost everything until he went to Vegas and got his business back. It has a real folk lore feel to it and it is quite catchy. As I stated, every song is good on here. They are all winners. It just dropped on September 16th so you can git yer copy here!