Whether it’s finishing work on his long-awaited third solo album or finding the perfect spot for a new recording studio, Brian Olive is a man of infinite patience. That explains why the sessions for his upcoming effort, Living on Top, took close to three years, as the retro sound-loving former member of beloved Cincinnati garage rock icons The Greenhornes and Detroit’s hard-charging Soledad Brothers toiled to make sure it sounded just right.

Based on a preview of four songs Olive played on the latest edition of WCPO’s Lounge Acts podcast, the results are well worth the wait. Asked when he started working on Top, Olive was pretty sure it was 2015. But then he was reminded by a band member that it was actually the year before, explaining that “a few things” were getting in the way. “It was worth taking the time to do because I like the way this one worked out,” he said.

Taking over the Digital Lounge with an all-star band that included Yusef Quotah (Halvsies, You, You’re Awesome) on keyboards, Tim Seiwert (Whiskey Shambles, Casey Campbell) on drums, bassist Andy Jody (Barrence Whitfield & the Savages) and back-up singers Beth Harris (The Hiders, the Perfect Children) and Kristen Kreft (The Perfect Children), Olive rocked the room with a heavy dose of his patented Motown-influenced soul. The album’s title track is a propulsive choogle that mixes the blue-eyed soul of Steve Winwood’s Traffic with such Motor City legends as Mitch Ryder and Bob Seeger, with Olive handling both the chicken scratch lead guitars, yearning vocals and playing a wicked, frenetic saxophone solo.

For more from Brian Olive: http://www.brianolivemusic.com For more from Lounge Acts: http://wcpo.com/loungeacts

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