PRESS HIGHLIGHTS
■ Joining albums by icons Eric Clapton, Tom Waits, and Jerry Lee Lewis Nobody Rides for Free debuts at number five on the January 2007 Euro Americana Chart, a chart compiled by DJs, journalists, retailers, and promoters from all over Europe. Euro Americana Chart
■ "[A] a bracing blast of Southern boogie and Jersey soul invested with personal pain, pride, and passion. LaSalle's surprisingly expressive bellow has some of the fervid intensity of classic Van Morrison. He also puts on a tent revival of a live show." -- Jim Ridley, Nashville Scene
■ "Nobody Rides For Free is a beautiful album, in a beauty of a cover, from a musical chameleon who, in a brilliant way, brings his mash of jazzy, bluesy, twangy, soulful roots rock even to the album's hidden bonus track. 1/2. Ron Lasalle & the East Side Rockers are eagerly awaited in Europe!" --Freddy Celis, Rootstime (Belgium)
■ "On Nobody Rides for Free, Ron LaSalle goes down to the crossroads. Only instead of bargaining with the devil, he wrestles him and other personal demons—and emerges battered but triumphant, his soul intact and his spirit rocking for the ages. From gutbucket acoustic blues to sweet soul to Stones-worthy rhythm ‘n’ rock, LaSalle drives with style into the intersection of blues and rock giants. He proves he belongs in their company, then blows on down his own road" --Michael McCall, Nashville Scene
■ "LaSalle's rough, black voice is perfect for this bluesy collection. . . but it is the ballads that really make the record. . .I Am Love is an amazing song that, alone, is worth the price of the album. . .. The steamy Try to Trust Again is a soulful rock ballad that sounds like a seventies record while the rootsy She Did Love Me reflects LaSalle's debt to John Hiatt. . .Overall, a record filled with blues-passion in every note that puts Ron LaSalle, an outsider by trade, in his own category where roots music isn't limited by the misused term Americana."
--Fabio Cerbone, RootsHighway (Italy)
■ "Five years after the beautiful debut of the album Too Angry To Pray, the singer songwriter returns with a disk that's rough and bluesy but full of richly textured ballads, solidifying its value. An album that mixes the moods of Van Morrison with the sounds of Dr. John, passing from soul to gumbo, from rock to the blues." --Junior Bonner's Choice, Buscadero Magazine (Italy)
■ "The very sexy, jazzy, bluesy, roots-rock twang-flavored music that LaSalle produces on the successor to 2001's Too Angry To Pray is, in large part, an extension of that album. All delicious stuff. . .authentic Ron LaSalle music with a bright future. Well done."
--Jan Janssen, Real Roots Café (Belgium)
■ "[LaSalle's] music is a cross between southern soul-blues and warm ballads in the style of Van Morrison. Beautiful voice, great sound, lots of dimension in the arrangements. Ron LaSalle is one of ours." Caru (Italy)
■ "So much great stuff this week I'm chaffin' at the bit! New cuts from Ron LaSalle. . . and some real classic blues n roots from Eddie Boyd, Luther Allision, Junior Wells. You get the picture - hell yeah. . . ." Salty Dog Blues N Roots (Melbourne, Australia) (featuring the best Australian and world blues, roots, and alt country).
■ Ron LaSalle’s album Too Angry to Pray. . . is positively seeped in Hiatt and Bob Segar– both vocally (LaSalle’s voice is a dead ringer) but musically too. . .Another Day in Nashville and The Hard Cold Truth are the type of songs made for US medium-wave radio and sound like standards after just one listen. . .a hugely enjoyable record. -- MW, Americana UK
■ Joining albums by icons Eric Clapton, Tom Waits, and Jerry Lee Lewis Nobody Rides for Free debuts at number five on the January 2007 Euro Americana Chart, a chart compiled by DJs, journalists, retailers, and promoters from all over Europe. Euro Americana Chart
■ "[A] a bracing blast of Southern boogie and Jersey soul invested with personal pain, pride, and passion. LaSalle's surprisingly expressive bellow has some of the fervid intensity of classic Van Morrison. He also puts on a tent revival of a live show." -- Jim Ridley, Nashville Scene
■ "Nobody Rides For Free is a beautiful album, in a beauty of a cover, from a musical chameleon who, in a brilliant way, brings his mash of jazzy, bluesy, twangy, soulful roots rock even to the album's hidden bonus track. 1/2. Ron Lasalle & the East Side Rockers are eagerly awaited in Europe!" --Freddy Celis, Rootstime (Belgium)
■ "On Nobody Rides for Free, Ron LaSalle goes down to the crossroads. Only instead of bargaining with the devil, he wrestles him and other personal demons—and emerges battered but triumphant, his soul intact and his spirit rocking for the ages. From gutbucket acoustic blues to sweet soul to Stones-worthy rhythm ‘n’ rock, LaSalle drives with style into the intersection of blues and rock giants. He proves he belongs in their company, then blows on down his own road" --Michael McCall, Nashville Scene
■ "LaSalle's rough, black voice is perfect for this bluesy collection. . . but it is the ballads that really make the record. . .I Am Love is an amazing song that, alone, is worth the price of the album. . .. The steamy Try to Trust Again is a soulful rock ballad that sounds like a seventies record while the rootsy She Did Love Me reflects LaSalle's debt to John Hiatt. . .Overall, a record filled with blues-passion in every note that puts Ron LaSalle, an outsider by trade, in his own category where roots music isn't limited by the misused term Americana."
--Fabio Cerbone, RootsHighway (Italy)
■ "Five years after the beautiful debut of the album Too Angry To Pray, the singer songwriter returns with a disk that's rough and bluesy but full of richly textured ballads, solidifying its value. An album that mixes the moods of Van Morrison with the sounds of Dr. John, passing from soul to gumbo, from rock to the blues." --Junior Bonner's Choice, Buscadero Magazine (Italy)
■ "The very sexy, jazzy, bluesy, roots-rock twang-flavored music that LaSalle produces on the successor to 2001's Too Angry To Pray is, in large part, an extension of that album. All delicious stuff. . .authentic Ron LaSalle music with a bright future. Well done."
--Jan Janssen, Real Roots Café (Belgium)
■ "[LaSalle's] music is a cross between southern soul-blues and warm ballads in the style of Van Morrison. Beautiful voice, great sound, lots of dimension in the arrangements. Ron LaSalle is one of ours." Caru (Italy)
■ "So much great stuff this week I'm chaffin' at the bit! New cuts from Ron LaSalle. . . and some real classic blues n roots from Eddie Boyd, Luther Allision, Junior Wells. You get the picture - hell yeah. . . ." Salty Dog Blues N Roots (Melbourne, Australia) (featuring the best Australian and world blues, roots, and alt country).
■ Ron LaSalle’s album Too Angry to Pray. . . is positively seeped in Hiatt and Bob Segar– both vocally (LaSalle’s voice is a dead ringer) but musically too. . .Another Day in Nashville and The Hard Cold Truth are the type of songs made for US medium-wave radio and sound like standards after just one listen. . .a hugely enjoyable record. -- MW, Americana UK