With a band name The Great Divide, maybe it was preordained that they split up twenty years ago after being an originator of the Red Dirt scene in the early 2000s. They had a label deal with Atlantic, were on the charts, and Garth Brooks recorded one of their songs. They were playing 200 dates a year and had released five albums. Then it all came crashing down. Frontman, principal songwriter and lead guitarist Mike McClure split in 2003 and went on to have a solo career that spawned nine albums. The rest of the band went their separate ways. It was the typical all-too-familiar story – ego clashes, drugs, alcohol, and frustration. So, this reunion is not what most would have predicted but we are all the beneficiaries of this thematic album Providence, which deals with time, forgiveness, and moving forward.
The original band is intact plus one. A now sober, clearheaded McClure is back as is bassist Kelley Green, brothers Scott and JJ Lester on rhythm guitar and drums respectively, and new member keyboardist Bryce Conway. The band begins with jangling guitars and organ swirls that power “Wrong Is Overrated,” essentially an admission of guilt by McClure for the band’s breakup – “I made such a mess and things got complicated.” The infectious hooks draw one in immediately. The tempo slows for another McClure autobiographical song, “I Can Breathe Again,” a heartfelt love song to his significant other to whom he credits sobriety and escape from his demons. McClure’s melodic, soaring guitar lines are fairly simple but are a perfect fit for the tender message.
The single “Good Side” has an impossibly arresting hook, an ode to the reunion of the band, finding joy and uplift. Again, Conway’s B3 fills in plenty of the spaces, providing a solid underpinning and some soloing too. “Set It All Down” continues thematically, with its stomping beat. In many respects the traits of McClure’s energetic, uplifting songwriting here are a continuation of what we heard on his 2020 solo release, Looking Up, which we covered on these pages. He is again coming from a mindset of healing and rebirth.
“Slipping Away” begins with a faint reggae beat and morphs into the age-old theme about time as it sways to the indelible chorus of “We all know that time goes slipping away,” punctuated by tasty guitar licks and robust organ. Slide guitar imbues “Heaven Is High,” which begins with classic blues lines such as “hand me down my walking shoes” and other borrowed lines such as “no peace in the valley” but the scintillating guitar parts alone give it a far different sound than the preceding material, which admittedly was starting to take on a “sameness.” “My Sweet Lily” follows in a similar musical vein while lyrically it’s another love paean similar to “I Can Breathe Again.”
“Until We Cross” resumes the sound of the first half, a soaring ode to living the remaining years to the fullest with the band churning a steady pace of guitar-driven, organ-fueled rock, evoking a bit of Petty & The Heartbreakers. “Into the Blue” mixes dobro with the keys while lyrically it again speaks to spending meaningful time while it lasts, while the closer, the chugging “Infinite Line” ratchets up the guitars and organ to once more state how quickly the decades can pass. In an age when so much divisiveness reigns, it is only fitting that The Great Divide reunite.
