Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

This album is truly comforting. Like coming in from the cold or bathing in a hot spring, this fine album makes me feel relaxed and content. There is definitely a psychedelic texture to these songs. Whatever the amalgamations, permutations, and combinations are, it is certainly the winning formula like the Colonel’s recipe.

This album goes down the hallucinogenic trail early with the opening track, Set Me Down On A Cloud. An absolutely heavenly track, no pun intended. Great introspective writing with the vocals and music to back it up. Let’s not forget the backing vocalists on this track. Those duties are performed by Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe from the band Lucius. Truly amazing, cry worthy. Yes, it is so beautiful it caused little tears emanating from my eye sockets. There is also a face melting guitar solo and left me dumbfounded. 

If tear jerking, love, and heartbreak ballads are what you are into, you will absolutely adore Forget About Georgia (Track 11). Lukas wrote this song about a woman he met who completely broke his heart. He met her at a Willie Nelson concert. Of course he did, he’s Willie’s boy.

I didn’t mention that earlier on purpose. This music speaks for itself and does not need any help. Where was I? He could never forget this woman that crushed his heart since he sang Georgia On My Mind on tour with his pappy almost every night. About halfway through this eight minute masterpiece, the song veers into space and closes out the last four minutes of this song in complete psychedelic bliss. The fastest 8 minutes I have ever spent. I think this song would work well with some nice shades of green. 

Speaking of some psychedelic waves of sound, Fool Me Once (Track 3) fills that order. Although this number starts out as a swampy tune that is a mix between Bobby Charles and Mungo Jerry, there is a nice electric guitar solo that sounds like something off of the Grateful Dead’s Mars Hotel or Wake Of The Flood. 

This is a true contender for one of the best of the year. The amazing thing is, this album is so many things, there is at least one song that could appeal to anyone. It transcends country music, rock and roll, and even soul. Besides that, this is one fine album regardless of which genre you may identify with. Give ’em a listen.

Listen to Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real

Buy this album on Lukas Nelson’s website