Album Review // Ed Randazzo // Wishing On A Train

ReservED Music

5/5 stars

This is the first full length album release by Northeastern Pennsylvania singer-songwriter Ed Randazzo since 2015's If You Don't Bring Me Joy. The folk troubadour revisited his hometown of Scranton to record Wishing On A Train with some of his longtime friends. The album opens with a howl that grabs the listener's attention and transitions into a traditional blues groove, with the help of an organ and trumpet, on "Stone-Cold Envy Blues." The songs progress into Americana hitting on the topics of love in "I've Been Heavy," loss in "Black Boys On Mopeds," and the American railways in "Give Me Central 209."

The cover of the traditional spiritual "Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down" is on par with modern covers by Robert Plant and Uncle Tupelo, while "Saint Cecilia" carries a Dylan-esque vibe as a love song to the patron saint of music and musicians. The album's penultimate song "Wishing On A Train" is the heaviest on the album and will have you stomping your feet and wanting more. The album ends on the song "Fix Me A Pallet," which sounds like it's being played on an old acoustic slide blues guitar, proving that Ed Randazzo has as much songwriting chops and blues guitar prowess as any seasoned professional.