Full disclosure, I almost never listen to a whole album anymore.

With albums, 8-tracks and cassettes, it was more the norm, but now, with streaming and the shuffle feature – and our eviscerated attention spans – it’s a rarity.

But the once-every-five-years chore of cleaning out my closet led me to listen to every tune on the new release by Whitehall native PJ Ferguson and his band, The Tennessee Strange, called “Don’t Ya Know It’s All A Show.”

More full disclosure, I have a soft spot for Ferguson, because he has helped my musician daughter Kirsti over the years and had her sing with him on past tunes including “Always be Yours” and “Up” off his album “Starting Line.”

I’m also not really a music review guy, but with Ferguson and the band set to play The Strand Theater in Hudson Falls on Sept. 5, which I have tickets for, I thought I’d take a stab at it.  

Overall, I liked it.

A lot.

I was impressed by the tightness of the band, the vocals and I really enjoyed a lot of the writing. I think what struck me too is the variety. At some points it feels like boot-stomping country and other times almost like driving grunge.

The first track, “Leap of Faith,” is a speedy, rocking entrance into the album featuring some really nice guitar work. I’ve always been drawn to lead guitarists in bands, which explains my love of the Allman Brothers,  Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead, Hendrix etc.

I’m not saying Tommy Leland is any of those guys, but he’s tight.

Track two, “I’ll Be Me,” is a total left turn from the first track, reminding me a little of The Talking Heads. It’s not as hard and driving, but really catchy.

The third track, “Don’t Tell Me What to Play” takes an even sharper turn and gives off a country boot-scooting vibe. It tells the story of a club owner who is dictating what the band should play in his venue. If you don’t tap your foot this tune, you can’t hear well. I love the drum beat, and it features great background vocals supporting Ferguson’s lead.

Having seen Ferguson play since he was a kid, it’s neat to hear the evolution, and on this album, he clearly has taken control of his voice and knows what he can and can’t do. As a young performer he amazingly had a catalog of hundreds of songs he could play though at times I felt some were maybe out of his range. He’s more polished than ever now.

“Anymore” follows on the album and this was another favorite on the album. It’s more a mid-tempo ballad, and I was channeling Bruce Springsteen in parts as I listened.

“Love or Leave Me” follows and was a little more trippy, again showing a different side of him and the band on this album. I was feeling The Doors in parts. Liked it, but wasn’t my favorite.

What came next, however, is “Roll You Up a Reason,” and I loved it. From the opening riff (I love opening riffs, one of the reasons I love the Rolling Stones) this one grabbed me and kept me. He’s chatting about the most popular plant in the country these days, obviously, and he’s doing it cleverly. Love the melody, the bridge, the great background piano, the beat and Ferguson’s voice, which is showing a big range. This one could easily be played on mainstream radio and be loved.

“Goodbye North Country” is an ode to leaving this area for Nashville, and being happy about it. The lyric, “Goodbye North Country. I loved you more than you ever loved me,” touches on what he’s told me in past interviews, how he never felt he fit in. It’s another solid song. It’s easy to listen to and it’s rocking.

“I don’t Want You To Go,” is another slower tune, and listening to it reminded me of Bon Jovi to an extent. I really enjoyed the prominent sax in this one.

The album concluded with the grungy  “Burnout” and ballad-like “Evergreen.”

Gonna be honest, “Burnout,” which features Cage the Elephant’s Lincoln Parish, didn’t hit me. “Evergreen,” however, did. It was a nice culmination to the album. It’s mellow, with long guitar notes, nice piano, and a lower and slower vocal about his love. He’s basically talking about his flaws and how he’s “no shooting star,”  and that “she sees in me what I can’t see.”

I liked the message, the writing and loved the cool acoustic guitar solo in the middle that gave me a Willie Nelson vibe. Another favorite on the album for me.

Many of you probably know, but Ferguson is making a name for himself on the Nashville strip. Check out his social media channels and see him playing to hundreds of people at all of the major venues. He crowd surfs, sings on bars, uses a police bullhorn for effects and really has just turned himself into quite a showman.

And he’s psyched to play The Strand.

“All I can say is I’m beyond excited and grateful for that show. I’ve had my inner conflicts with my relationship with home, but at the end of the day, there’s no place like home and this show is shaping up to be one of the coolest things I’ve gotten to do in my career so far,” he said.

There are 37 tickets left for the show, he said. I’m looking forward to it. Oh, and as a fan of the Dead and the ’60s culture, I LOVE the artwork on the album and his posters. Very cool!