Barry Holdship and I go back decades. His brother Bill was my editor at Creem and Bill played keyboards for Detriot power pop band Let's Talk About Girl. Barry was lead singer and huitarist.
They were great.
A Big Star influenced, hard rock band with handfuls of great songs and star quality.
Fast forward 30 years and Barry is still at it. Two successful solo albums in Europe, and if you go to Soundcloud/Barry Holdship, you will find six songs, all excellent and all covers. Holdship has a protean rock and roll voice made for ballads as well as rockers. His vocal range IS IMPRESSIVE, on a superb Gene Pitney song, "Every Breath I Take " he sings an entire verse falsetto.
Barry's choice of cover material is illuminating, two Gene Pitney songs, plus a Roxy Music, Bobby Fuller, Ricky Nelson plus a great Springsteen obscurity. All of these covers have something to recommend them, "If It Takes All Night" has two killer solos, one on the harp which is just gorgeous. The Gene Pitney numbers are vocal exercizes and Ricky Nelson's "It's Up To You" is country rock old school.
But best of all is "Sad Eyes". I knew the song off Springsteen's Tracks compiliation of obscurities album but it never left much of an impression till now;.but this is a a deeply moving version that buries deep. Every time Barry changes to falsetto he gets me and every time he plays harp he gets me again.
The backing band is excellent, following his old time rock bar band feel very well indeed.
As for Barry, I wouldn't mind some self-written material, it's been too long since "Don't Say What's Behind Me".