John Michael Hersey has just released a massive full length album and it touches on the more contemporary side of the songwriters abilities.
The Fifty Minute Hour still holds true to Hersey's staple theatrical feel and variety in songwriting but also boasts some wonderful piano work and brings out the jazz influence as songs feel almost like showtunes and seems very much like a concept album.
You really feel like you just watched a full on play and that's such an outstanding thing to accomplish. To be able to paint visual pictures and lay it all out with such detail and with such a bright performance that it all comes together with a near flawless performance.
Piano rock, ballads, and more all rolled up in one huge record and sonically produced with a shine and vibrant feel, The Fifty Minute Hour is easy to get caught up in right from the firs track. You want to hear hat happens next constantly so you keep listening.
Bringing artists like Billy Joel to mind at times, and crossing it with songs that sound like they were written in the late 50's other times, there are real deal genuine crooner tracks on this record.
One of our favorites and in a timely manner to boot, is "Merry Christmas Stranger". This is an excellent and original Christmas song that tells a story.
Hersey has a way of telling stories and keeping everything colorful.
This album is a full deep dive and it's worth every minute.