Mike McClure first gained national attention in the mid-late 1990s as the front man and lead guitarist for Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Music pioneers The Great Divide. After parting ways with the band in 2003, following a solo recording 12 Pieces and Remain, McClure went on to form his own band called the Mike McClure Band and released eight albums with the band prior to forming 598 Recordings with C.P. Sparkman in 2011. This partnership has allowed McClure to release his first ‘true’ solo album since 2002’s 12 Pieces.

What’s immediately noticeable about Fifty Billion is that it feels like the best recording McClure has put together in a couple of years. The opening title track is poetic and recalls the classic stuff from the TGD era and great songs from The Band.  Classic rock has always inspired McClure as much as the classic country and Texas singer/songwriters and that’s instantly apparent on “Black Diamond,” a song that if it were ‘louder’ – or sung by a rock vocalist like Chris Cornell – it’d be easy to picture the well-written tune a cornerstone of modern rock radio playlists (where it’d easily be one of the best-written songs there). “Hell or High Water” recalls some classic rock sounds with a strong lyric and vocal delivery with a few horns added for good measure.

A couple of ballads are present throughout the record and “Other Side of Midnight” recalls McClure’s “Broken,” a song that friends Cross Canadian Ragweed once cut for their major label debut, Cross Canadian Ragweed, (The Purple) album.  “Old Crow” recalls old-time string bands a bit and it once again showcases a singer in McClure that’s free of ‘genre’ restraints that hold back many other artists. It is this freedom that makes Fifty Billion a brilliant showcase of the growth in Mike McClure’s music since his days with the groundbreaking band The Great Divide.