Members CD Review from the Songwriting Society of Australia 1999 The new CD from Steve McNaughton 'Hardly softly rock' has been produced to a very high standard. Steve has put his energies totally into this CD. The first track 'Believe in me ' rips right out of the speakers with it's riff laden Aussie pub rock sound. Great vocal with a touch of Ray Davies. The sound has a mix of Cheap Trick, the Kinks and the Partyboys. A very, very catchy song with a top up tempo ending. I really like the ideas in 'Stalingrad still stands' as it starts with an Eastern synth sound then lets loose the dogs of war with full tilt rock. This song spent 11 weeks at the top of the Ison Live radio charts and you can tell why, Great great rock song! 'Is it over' is a softer more country sounding piece; maybe a tinge of the Eagles in its style. A great change in the chorus which is uplifting and dynamic. Track four 'Didn't Mean It' is driving rock powered by a stunning guitar riff. Then the vocal tightly accompanies the guitar. Great pub rock that really kicks. The next track 'I Did What I Did' is possibly the best track on the album. The guitar riff and horn combination gives the song a hook start with a feel in between Cream and the Eurythmics.The outro finishes the song nicely . Fan-bloody-tastic Steve!! A real rip snorter. 'Hold me tonight' with soft jazzy rock and West Coast lead breaks, is a real change from the earlier songs. It has interesting lyrical rhythms and the second vocal gives it an edge. Other great tracks follow, including 'Can't be Denied', a good emotional cover version of Chris Isaak's 'Somebody's Crying' and 'Homecoming' a touching duet with Blues supremo Jenny Lang. The Album wraps up with 'Find Your Soul' to which the rocking acoustic guitar adds a real country rock flair. All in all a great set that demonstrates Steve's musical talents to the extreme and a package that any writer would be extremely proud of. I must admit that I tend to lean towards the rockier songs like 'Stalingrad still stands', 'Believe in me' and 'I Did What I Did' however his writing ability is world class and now he has a product that confirms it. From Heard Reviews STEVE MCNAUGHTON - HARDLYSOFTLYROCK I first came across Steve's music a sometime back on one of the Big Backyard sample discs a while back & now Steve has brought his debut album out, entitled Hardlysoftlyrock, which is a fairly accurate description of the album as it happens. Steve hails from NSW & has teamed up with some great musicians including John Swan (Swanee), who teams up with Steve on "I Did What I Did", one of the album's highlights, though equally impressive is "Homecoming", which sees an artist called Jenny Lang providing accompanying vocals too. Pick for me is "Didn't Mean It", another great highlight, which is a good standard style rock track that's as good an example of Steve's music as any other here, though closing number "Find Your Soul" is certainly an interesting track as well. If you're interested in creative song writing & enjoy musician's putting all their emotional energy and everything else into their performance then, Steve's your man.