Wayne Merdinger Returns with Appropriately Named HIDDEN GEMS
Last Summer, we covered Wayne Merdinger’s “The Train Song“. This year, he’s back with a new album entitled Hidden Gems, which includes 6 new tracks and 6 remastered versions of previously released singles, as well as a remastered version of his song “Abbey Road” from the 2017 album Behold the Invisible Man.
The Scottsdale, Arizona based musician Wayne Merdinger has been making music for decades, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that his family encourage him to being recording it for the world to enjoy. With inspiration from the greats of the 60s through today, Merdinger’s music refuses to conform to one simple genre label. The tracks vary in influence, tone, and style, but all have a flair that is unique and unifying.
While all 13 songs are well written and easy to listen to, it’s tracks like “American Dream” that work best for this particular music fan. With a style that feels like it borrows equally from The Beatles, Collins era Genesis, and alternative bands like INXS, the song is catchy, invokes thought provoking context, and packs the right balance of punch and pop – “American Dream” is a perfect top 40 radio type track. It has a sound that many will love and a pleasant feel that even non-fans will find wholly non-offensive. Like much of the album, it could probably be called “adult contemporary plus” – in that it has that easy listening, aurally pleasant feel of adult contemporary music, but brings something extra for the deeper music listeners out there.
Another standout is the remastered version of “Abbey Road”, Wayne’s ode to recording at the legendary studio and his musical idols. Poppy, fun, and full of life, the track is hard to dislike in any way.
From start to finish, the album is a solid one and it’s well worth a listen or three. You can listen above or directly at Spotify. You can also find more from Wayne at waynemerdinger.com.
