Bob Egan

Blue Rodeo sideman Egan has assembled an ace collection of local musicians to craft an inviting and moody soundtrack for muggy late summer nights, with a comfortable Kawartha vibe captured by producer Greg Keelor. But as a singer/songwriter album, The Promise is notable for neither its singing nor its songs. Egan is no slouch as a vocalist, but the soaring pedal steel solo on the driving "Disconnected" is better than the song itself, and with the exception of the Be Good Tanyas' haunting cameo on "When I'm Gone," it's the instrumentation that carries the album.