Born in Chicago where the blues flavored his soul, Oost's style was forged on the anvil of bars and clubs into a unique sound that brings a variety of vibe to his music. 5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING WORK! The stuff great songs are made of!, August 30, 2012 By steeltides 79 - See all my reviews This review is from: Michael Oosten (Audio CD) I bought this CD a while back at an independent record store (since burned down), and must have listened to it fifty times in the first month I owned it. Every track on this album is near-perfect. These are the sort of songs that really stick with you ... the lyrics and melodies resonate in your head long after the cd stops spinning. ''Hey Babe' is a high-spirited, catchy opening tune, with an energetic piano and tickling guitar which dance inseperably together behind the mirthful vocals. 'Wavefaring Boy' is a haunting and majestic tune - truly one of my favorite songs of all time. The guitar work in this tune crawls up my spine and gives me the chills everytime, and the lyrics bear the signs of a songwriter truly engulfed in his own craft. These are words that have weight, meaning, and emotion. Oosten masterfully hones a dreamy balance between his vocals and the astonishing guitar-work which accompanies the words. In my opinion, these are the words of a songwriter who has LIVED his lyrics; this is songwriting of the absolute purest form. 'Garden' is another fave of mine, a whimsical energetic tune about humanity and triumph in which Oosten's guitar-work (matched with his hearfelt vocals) bring me to tears nearly every listen. 'Garden'is pure ear-candy, the type of song we just don't hear enough of these days. Simply beatiful. The initial release of this disk only contained five songs, yet my research here on Amazon led me to a recent re-release of this album with three additional tracks, all of which are quite potent in their own right. With these added tracks, the disc clocks in at forty-five minutes total. 'Hungry Horse Montana' alone is nearly twelve minutes in length. This is not just a quick-listen EP that you can put on as filler while washing your dishes, this is music with intent and soul. This is a disc that belongs to be recognized as one of the great guitar-driven, acoustic-minded, rock-oriented albums of all times. I would put it up there with The Velvet Underground's 'Loaded' in terms of tonality and lyrical resonance. A masterpiece. Definitely an album I will be listening to for the rest of my life. Thanks~