A couple of months ago, I caught up with a friend of mine from my old college radio days. We talked about a lot of things but mostly, we reminisced about our days on air at the old college station. And as always, our conversation eventually drifted to comparisons of the musical styles of the past thirty or forty years. His main point was that modern music is missing the storytellers, the great musicians who can write a lyric that tells a story and combine it with a quality piece of music that leaves the listener yearning for more. And although I didn’t fully agree with his assumptions and I could point to some bona fide exceptions, I realized that they were the exceptions to the rule and not the rule itself.

Last Tuesday, P.J. Pacifico released his second record Always & Everywhere and within moments of listening to the album on my IPod, I knew that I was listening to the next great storyteller. With a soulful and inviting vocal range, P.J. has created an album full of great stories and phenomenal melodies that are based on the past four years of his life as he has traveled around the country in support of his first CD. And the more I listened to his songs, the more mesmerized I became.

On Always & Everywhere, P.J. has crafted scintillating lyrics that allow my mind to get lost in the harmonies while the trials and tribulations of the world around me fade away. I was quickly captivated with songs of love, life lessons and the wisdom that he has experienced from living out his dream and sharing his gift of music with the world. Throughout the entire album, P.J. shares his own fears, sacrifices, successes, and revelations that beautifully chronicle the message that each day is a new adventure filled with hope, love and prosperity.

And for the past week, I have found myself addicted to the entire record. Always & Everywhere is saturated with spellbinding riffs that are delightfully woven into each song that compliment and add to the sophisticated brilliance of the album. As Always & Everywhere fluctuates from edgy songs like “Batten Down”, “Why Do I Feel It” and “Here & There” to the mellifluous offerings of “The Girl from Montreal”, “First Light”, “Jackbone” and “Incognito,” P.J.’s songs have captivated my imagination, lifted my spirits and encouraged me to sing along with each of his tunes.

And from a personal standpoint, this album couldn’t have found me at a better time. Music has always played an important role in my life and as I have faced my own crossroads over the past year, Always & Everywhere has reminded me that with each new day we can all find our own personal redemption in the choices we make. Life has an interesting way of helping us find a piece of wisdom that allows us to connect to the greater world around us and in the stories of this album, I was able to find a piece of personal insight that has helped me to look forward with hope.

On Always & Everywhere, P.J. has written an album that blends great music with intelligent and relevant lyrics that will engross you from the first song to the last. And later this week when I speak to my friend, I am going tell him to log into his ITunes account and download Always & Everywhere; he won’t be disappointed. And neither will you!

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To Hear more of PJ’s music, his Myspace Music page contains songs from both albums. (click here to go there)

Author’s note: In the interest of full disclosure, PJ Pacifico is a friend of mine. We used to work together back in the early 1990s and his former band Sunflower is even mentioned in my article about my former band Crossfire. I have linked to his website ever since Irishman For Hire launched and I can’t wait for his band to get up to Boston for a few concerts! I hope you all decide to invest in this album, I think you will like it. And for those of you who like the Beatles, he has a great remake of the Beatles “I Want To Hold Your Hand” that has gotten airplay in NYC over the weekend. Good Luck PJ!! From a good friend up here in MA.