Don't Miss

Cali singer-songwriter Stevie Cornell releases new album, ‘Some Sweet Dream’

By Kath Galasso on May 6, 2024

With a storied and multi-genre career that spans nearly half a century, Some Sweet Dream is surprisingly, only Stevie Cornell’s second solo album. Hailing from Santa Rosa, California, Cornell has been influential in nearly every genre imaginable, from the inception of punk to rockabilly to Americana to jazz and blues.

Cornell’s first Americana band, The Movie Stars, of which he was a founding member, became a household name in Northern California’s Americana scene. In the early 80s he also founded the retro/rockabilly band Red Meat. From there, Cornell took a hiatus from recording and touring to raise a family, but it’s clear from his comeback releases that he never stopped writing.

With so many genres to pull from and an innate storytelling ability, Cornell is exploring a gallery of styles in his recent releases. Some Sweet Dream is his folkish, surf rock answer to the retro country of his first self-titled album, released in 2022. With a perfectly strained and gravely folk-style vocal to each track, Cornell explores the fun and funkiness of the late 60s and 70s.

Fans of this era will recognize influence ranging from Johnny Cash or Willie Nelson to the Beach Boys, The Kinks, Tom Petty and even the Doors. He’s proficient in all of these styles and does a great job of meshing all these influences into his own unique style. From the fun, highly boppable rockabilly of “Lying to Myself” to the more serious and psychedelic “Last Time I Count on You,” Cornell keeps fans guessing and engaged with this exciting album.

No matter which genre he’s working in, Stevie Cornell provides a contemplative warmth and a great storytelling acumen with all of his music. Fans can only expect more interesting and soulful work from here.

Tracklist:
01: Better As A Memory
02: Courage
03: Dark Are The Windows
04: Some Sweet Dream
05: Settle Down
06: Drunkard’s Lullaby
07: My Black Cloud
08: Last Time I Count On You
09: Don’t Look Down
10: Lying To Myself
11: Where Do You Go From Here?
12: One More Time

Websites:
Website: https://steviecornell.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steviecornellmusic?mibextid=LQQJ4d
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevecornellmusic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5hQZtP9bauCgRV2APn1goP?si=FwNC4Sk3RLK9-KEILXorGA

Artist Bio:
Eclectic is the only way to describe Stevie’s music. And catchy! Over a long musical arc from 70s punk rock through early americana, jazz, film music, electronica, retro country western, rockabilly he has always been restlessly devouring styles, turning them inside out to see what makes them tick.

After a long hiatus from music, raising a family and teaching kids guitar, Stevie released his first solo album in 2022 to enthusiastic praise from the left side of the dial.

His latest album is his second full length record and it’s another wild ride through all of the musical attics and thrift stores he’s been sifting through for the past 40 years. Not only does the album swerve through genres like a champion slalom racer, but each SONG is likely to have a thousand echos of past sonic journeys. He ties everything together with his masterful use of melody and hooks, both musical and lyrical.

As a performer, Stevie delivers his tunes with a sweet and scratchy baritone that suggests a world weariness that never quite gives up hope in humanity.

He has the warm, engaging stage persona of someone who has spent a lifetime in front of people, but he’s not afraid to let loose like the 70s punk he once was when the music calls for it.

His guitar playing is superb, but you wouldn’t know it unless you tried to recreate his guitar parts. He has managed to distill all of his complicated studio arrangements down to six strings and eight fingers, a thumb or two, somehow recreating an entire band with just a guitar and no effects.

He is touring this spring and summer up and down the west coast, playing his new record and anything else that pops into his head.