BARNES (Mecca members) – Long Road (2026) *HQ*
320_1 /// 320_2 /// HQ 1 /// HQ 2
Silently released by himself, ”Long Road” is the debut album by BARNES, the band of songwriter, producer and musician Ron Barnes. It was while studying at Berklee College of Music that he began playing piano as a secondary instrument to drums and percussion and, after many years as a working drummer, he finally found his voice in his own songwriting.
Ron Barnes’ songwriting is very 70s and 80s influenced with modern production. Musically, his songs range from FM radio-friendly rock to high energy power pop to AOR with some tracks incorporating bluesy chord changes and voicings.
Barnes’ partner in crime for the creation of ”Long Road” is talented producer & musician Joey Vana – son of Joe Vana (Mecca, Missing Toys) who also co-arranged the songs and play Electric Guitars, Keyboards, and did Background Vocals.
Drawing on his many connections with musicians from the genre, Joey Vana brought in outstanding players for the recording of BARNES’ debut album: Mike Aquino (Mecca, Pride Of Lions), Mecca’s mastermind Joe Vana on backing vocals, on bass Gary Lunn (Dann Huff’s WhiteHeart) & Bill Syniar (Mecca, Survivor), David Browning (Mecca) on keyboards, Chris Siebold (Soleil Moon) on guitar, and more. And the lead singer on these melodic songs is session cat Wally Swiatly, whose outstanding vocals are reminiscent of Richard Marx.
Musically, ”Long Road” achieves a seamless blend of ’80s AOR (midtempo gem title track “Long Road”, the Toto-ish “Before It’s Over”), dynamic West Coast (“Karma”), and Melodic Rock (“Wish You Well”, “Far Away”).
Fans of Mecca, Pride Of Lions, Jim Peterik and World Stage, Toto, etc, are in for a treat with BARNES’ ”Long Road”, one of the highlights of the year for the genre, and a must-hear for fans of the bands mentioned.
Highly Recommended
01 – Karma
02 – Far Away
03 – Wish You Well
04 – Long Road
05 – Before It’s Over
06 – It’ll Be Alright
07 – One Of These Days
08 – So Into You
09 – Goodbye
Ron Barnes – Drums, Percussion, Keyboards, Background Vocals
Joey Vana – Guitar, Background Vocals, Programming, Keyboards
Wally Swiatly – Lead Vocals
Mike Aquino – Guitar
Bill Syniar – Bass Guitar
Gary Lunn – Bass Guitar
David Browning – Keyboards
Paul Mutzabaugh – Keyboards
Chris Siebold – Electric Guitar Solo (1, 6)
Lisa McClowry – Background Vocals
BUY
barnesmusicworldwide.bandcamp.com/album/long-road
