Rant ‘n’ Roll

Mike Greenblatt, April 6, 2026

I Sometimes Think Better (Vanelle’s Songs), by Steve Baskin and the Fourteens, has the Atlanta roots rocker genre-hopping from Hard Americana and Power Pop to Southern Rock in a freewheeling brand of what one might call Instant Classic Rock, heavy on the singer-songwriter smarts.  

It’s a redo of his 2006 debut, only this time with the Fourteens, a tight sextet of two guitars, bass, drums, pedal steel and mandolin. If his 2024 Love Is Hard showed promise, that promise has been realized.