It’s the feeling you got when you sat down the first time in your very own place. When you identified with the characters in Reality Bites. When you stayed out past curfew the first time.

I still get the feeling when I shift into fifth and speed down any road. When my favorite song comes on in any of my best singing spots – bathroom, shower, or car. When I coast down a big hill on my bike.

That feeling is freedom. Weightlessness. Youth. Happiness.

Imagine a CD that embodies those feelings. I can classify it into some genre for you if it makes you happier. (Think old style rock.) But really, this is music that is bigger than that.

The Kings of Leon, in Youth and Young Manhood, open with a great guitar solo in “Red Morning Light”. If the song doesn’t make you feel good, your foot tapping to the music, even dancing, well… I don’t even know what.

In this very aptly titled album, every song is at least strong. Some, like “Red Morning Light”, the slower “Joe’s Head” and even the mournful “Dusty”, stand out but the whole album is worth a listen.

The Kings of Leon have gotten a ton of press of late, most of it praise. It’s well-earned. This is a fabulous CD. It hails back to the rock your parents may have listened to, and may even give you the same feeling of freedom they got when listening to records in their parents’ basement.

www.kingsofleon.com