The Beauty Of It All

Staffan Solding of Rootsy describes Brian Kalinec as "a combination of Woody Guthrie, John Steinbeck, James Taylor, and Rodney Crowell in the stories he tells." On The Beauty of It All, Kalinec paints from a distinctly diverse palette. Whether the image's path is Americana or folk, country or adult contemporary, he travels comfortably down it. Produced by Merel Bregante at Cribworks Digital Audio, Kalinec explores everyday aspects of existence: from life of a rodeo concession worker to friendship of neighbors headed down different paths; from youthful recollections of a fence built during segregation to a community coming together after a flood. He premiers "Big Hearted", written by Grammy winner Steve Seskin and Kate Schutt, emphasizing kindness. Also featured is "The Wind", co-written with Mando Saenz, celebrating human resiliency. All other songs are penned by Kalinec. The autobiographical title cut examines what he now considers the most important elements of life.