Barry Holdship Four - The Jesse Garon Project - 1996

Barry Holdship is one of those artists who seem so out of step with the sounds of the current Top 40 that his style becomes more timeless and timely than anything else you'll hear on the radio this or any other year. Blending the seemingly innocent charm of Bobby Fuller, Gene Pitney, Elvis, and Buddy Holly, then mixing in a dash of Lennon and McCartney and tossing in a few slices of country and power pop, Holdship is definitely a man of the moment, but that moment could have been at any stage during the 50-plus years since rock & roll was born.

Holdship's stunning first solo album (billed to the Barry Holdship Four, a nod to one of his heroes, Bobby Fuller) was released in 1997. A brilliant mix of traditional rock, country, power pop, and soul, Holdship was accepted by many of the trendy L.A. scenes and became an important player in all of them. -AMG