Olive drab Music

                                                                 "REVIEWS"
     Olive drab is a great small band based in Smallwood. I can think of few other bands who, if they had to, could perform songs by everyone from Hank Williams and Johnny Cash to the Stooges and the Clash, and still please most people (I say "most" because you just cant please some people.)
Olive drab was founded by Mo Goldner (guitar, vocals) and Charlene McPherson (vocals), who were later joined by Lyle Scott (bass). I first met them in 2001 at the monthly WJFF open house, where they performed and I was blown away. One of their songs, the fun yet poignant "Songs Rarely Ever Sung" resonated immediately with me. It was included on a CD of the same name released by the duo in 2002, which also had great tracks like "Cool Weather Lovers" and "When I'm Skinny."
     On "Come on Home", Olive drab comes back with four more songs featuring what they do so well. The title track is a sweet and easy song that beckons you to get back to where you once belonged whether you're in a big strange city, or fighting overseas.
"Another Year" sounds more like home for Olive drab: the rock element is more up front, and so is the disgruntled tone. It seems their angriest songs are also their most fun. Few are the working people who cannot relate to the lines, "What am I doing here/ indulging all my fears/ as I waste another year."
The disc sloses with two songs from last year's "Canarsie" EP. "Alone could be Olive drab's best chance for a breakthrough single. Charlene strikes just the right balance between country pop cool and plaintive yearning. "When I Rise" starts off slow and rises in intensity until the song runs into a loud jam with lots of guitar.
Jason Dole, The Towne Crier-March 3, 2004

"Forget the album title, these should be the songs that are ALWAYS sung. Don't be turned off by the
country classification. This isn't that dopey, Shania Twain mountain goat garbage that, for some reason, is called country. This album sets the bar much, much higher. From the perfectly placed slide guitar and three-part harmonies in "I know," and then the surprise Clash-esque lyrics at the end of the song, to the X-inspired guitar riff in "Boring," to the romantic angst done in classic Hank Williams style, with a twist of Roger Miller in "Out of my mind," this album presents extraordinary talent in a very unassuming and accessible way. Nowhere is there someone who ENJOYS sex in the heat, and yet, with "Cool Weather Lovers," Olive drab becomes the pioneer in vocalizing this discovery. They also document the downfall of your average Joe Schmoe Homer Simpson who's had it with the working life in "In My Bed," introduced with a made- to- fool you Johnny Cash bassline. By far the most relevant song on "Songs..." is "When I'm Skinny." With total potential for just being another whiny song by an angry woman, lead vocalist Charlene McPherson does just the opposite, and takes her audience on a journey through life under a magnifying glass, with a delicious twist of irony in her sarcastic wish for unlimited cheescake and wine, and of course, the much more realistically attainable record deal. "
Joclyn Gordon, Editor, Brooklyn College Kingsman

"Olive drab formed when they were slightly worse for wear in a New York bar one evening where guitarist Mo Goldner apparently asked vocalist Charlene McPherson to harmonize on some Stones, Dylan, and Hank Williams songs. Well, the inebriated references might not be present, but the rest are in abundance - catchy folk/bluegrass type numbers such as the opener "Wanna Believe" and the anything but "Boring" sound kinda angry but still focused - and given that most tracks were done in one or two takes, it makes it all the more real and all the more impressive. Eat your heart out Dixie Chicks.
Americana-uk, August 2002

Local Album of the Week" You've got to love Olive drab's "Songs Rarely Ever Sung."   The band rom Smallwood in Sullivan County might make music with a fair dose of twang, but it has so much heart, soul and smarts that, like the terrific band Wilco, it surpasses genres. Guitarist Mo Goldner, singer Charlene McPherson, bassist Lyle Scott, and drummer Josh Weingust team up on original songs about everything from a girl's wish to be skinny to trying to believe in the stuff adults said when you were young. The songs, melodies, pickin' rhythms and McPherson's rich vocals are so engaging that you forget whether the music's country, rock, folk or some combination of all three and just enjoy the music.
Steve Israel, Staff Writer, Times Herald Record, Friday, August 2, 2002

"This small band from Smallwood, N.Y. is a little hard on itself. There's nothing drab about this colorful blend of country, folk and rock, and there's absolutely no reason why these songs shouldn't be warbled more than just once in a while. Charlen McPherson's voice is clear and direct and sounds just right whether the song makes you want to tap your toe ("Wanna Believe") or laugh out loud ("When I'm Skinny"). Tight interplay among guitarist Mo Goldner, bassist Lyle Scott and drummer Josh Weingust make things sound like Johnny Cash's Tennessee Three in front of a campfire-albeit with a souped-up, modern sound. If No Doubt's Gwen Stefani had a yen for Hank Williams or Jason Ringenberg she might model herself on the sound of Olive Drab. Congrats on melding country tradition with pop smarts without going overboard."
Brian Steinberg, Country Standard Time

"If there has to fall one negative word about this own-budget-debute, then let it be this one: what a pity it's only 28 minutes long. That's about the only bad thing I can think of regarding this deliciously made country-folkpop by this foursome from Smallwood, NY." "It's indeed better to come up with only nine outstanding songs than a full-cd with four or five fillers. Strong, very strong and highly recommended!"
RootsTown Music Free-zine 32 - 2002

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Olive drab Music Reviews