Reviews
“ Cody LePow/ Roots Music/Americana/ Blues/Folk - Cody is a true craftsman whose music is part of the fabric of what music in the last 40 years has been all about. He has written so many songs that many are just floating around on paper in his Los Angeles area home. His quiet being speaks to you through song as if his music has been specifically written for you, that is how intimate his music feels. He can meet a person just one time, look into their eyes, and see their entire life; what they have lived, where they are in that moment, even where they are going. He is so intuitive that it feels as though he knows your life story before a word is spoken, and he has already written the soundtrack to your life within minutes of meeting you. When I first ran across him, it was at a small studio with a small audience and a few musicians. With his prized guitar, and a white light around him, he just played, spooling the audience into his web. He can take you into various eras and places; from the Appalachian Mountains in the song, I Will Crossover, to the Beat-Neck clubs of the 60’s. His song Angel with Broken Wings can reduce any female to tears, as it often does to me, because no one comes out of this world unscathed. He has put out several CD’s and EP’s, has worked with or shared the stage with artist like Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, X, and performed with various members from bands like the Eagles, the Pointer Sisters, Dwight Yoakum to name just a few. He has won songwriter awards, and seen a few things here and there, to sum up Cody LePow I will refer to a few of his songs for that; he is a Truck Drivin’ man on a Fast Train and Any day now the Love Junkie will come give you an Education on Love to fix an Angel With Broken Wings. I say Amen to the man with a thing for words!” - Story by Christi Broekemeier
“CODY LEPOW / Tales From A Dusty Southland. I am rather familiar with Cody LePow and he has a very unique name. His CD really hit me. LePow currently living in Southern California and in his music, you can find all the brands and blends of American music. From the sounds of Creedence, to the electric ballad styles of Dylan, Texas country and the epic writing of the Boss. This is a very powerful and explosive blend of music and emotion. This musician has come from out of nowhere into my life. I am also familiar with his bandmates as well. Cody has produced this record with Edward Tree. Cody has a very strong and particularly intense voice and is able to give these songs the benefits of these expressions. “Run Outlaw Run” screams with a dark electric vibrance. “Which Way Are You Going” has the pace of a Fogerty piece with epic tendencies and an intense and powerful melody. The guitars are vibrant, the drums beat hard and LePow’s voice rises up in song hitting that personal tone. It is a combination of fine melody, sound structure and the voice that makes these songs powerful. To get the full impact of this record and enjoy it fully it is important to play it loud! (The way I feel it was written.) Songs like “Love Junkie” with its dark bluesy grind, the harp, tight vocal and a strong feeling of almost violin sounds from a howling harmonica that evokes passion through a hard hitting tight vocal. “Angel With Broken Wings” on the other hand is country folk ballad with a smooth tone and touching melody and lyric. LePow shows great ability to change and to break the mold. Not only in composition but personality as well. Showing other than normal delivery. Four pieces, four completely different songs. All very much intact. With regard to James Deely (also reviewed), Cody is very skillful, but more derivative. LePow has a much wider vision of his music. The record follows this line and continues to maintain high interest of the listener, while finding musical diversity in a high vision. “2xtremes” is unusual, very dark but very full of the feeling of air, space, like the top of a mountain. “Drive Me Away” with a country rock feel, reminds me of classic Fogerty. “Trailer in Decatur” is a night ballad, sad and languid. Hot but and blue serenade. On “Education on Love”, blues rock lives again, “sangino” damn good bloody blues. Also, another intense and embracing ballad “The Deep Dark and Non-mysterious”. Overall, this is a very touching and rocking album. In its 49:00 minutes shows a great and valuable talent on the horizon.” - BUSCADERO MUSIC MAGAZINE - CD review by Paolo Caru
“This new CD by Cody LePow is packed tight with country-influenced blues. The material sounds original, yet one might hear a hint of old Creedence Clearwater and Leon Russell at times, which makes it quite interesting. There is a good chance that LePow will do well with this if radio play can be garnered. There is chart crossover potential with blues, country, and maybe even some easy rock acceptance possible on the record. He has a sound that may become signature in the years to come. Cody has opened for such acts as Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal, and has performed with Larry Kravitz, Dwight Yoakum, and members of the Eagles. ” - Nightmoves Magazine Article by Patrick M Schwartz.
“I know nothing about Cody LePow who, if anything has a very particular name. But his record struck me. LePow is from Southern California and in his music, there is all the American music. The sound of Creedence, Dylan's electric ballads, the Texan-branded country, the boss's epic writing. A condensation of high potential music. Yet this musician comes out of nowhere. Even the instruments that accompany him tell me little or nothing: Dickie Chandler, Edward Tree, Mike Hightower, Jim Kersey, Al Lohman. The album was produced by Cody along with Edward Tree. LePow has a strong and intense voice and manages to give a particular expression to his songs. Run Outlaw Run is an electric, nocturnal, and vibrant scream, Which Way Are You Going has the pace of a John Fogerty song, with the epic trend and the tense and powerful melody. The guitars vibrate, the drums pound hard and LePow’s voice stands up on the song, looking for personal tones; but it is the song itself that stands out, thanks also to a well-structured melody and a powerful sound. Very important to listen properly to this record, you have to play it at high volume, let it leak out of the speakers in all its power. Love Junkie is bluesy and nocturnal, with a lancinating harmonica and still tense voice. Angel With Broken Wings, by contrast, is a country folk ballad with muted tones and touching melody. LePow shows a not indifferent compositional ductility and a personality beyond the norm. Four songs, four completely different songs. Compared to James Deely, good but more derivative, LePow has a much broader musical vision from his. The disc continues on this line, keeping the listener’s interest high. 2 Xtremes is rarefied, Drive Me Way picks up the free-flowing rock sound at Fogerty, Trailer in Decator is a nocturnal, languid, and sad ballad. Again blues, damn bloody, with Education on Love, then another ballad, intense and enveloping, The Deep Dark and Non-Mysterious. So, an album of great grip, which in its fifty minutes presents us with a new musician of value.”
— Cheapo Music Web Magazine.
“LePow, what a beautiful surname. He comes forth with an album very complete and sweltering with pure Americana. Electric ballads, passages of root rock reminiscent of Creedence. Splashings of blues infiltrated with those pure roots. This is an album I can greatly appreciate. It is filled with good taste. ” - Junior Bonner
— Buscadero Music Magazine
Night Moves Magazine