"Saratoga songwriter Michael Jerling is a gem who deserves to be more fully discovered. Over his 25 year recording career, he has combined a literate storytelling style, in the mold of some of the great Texas songwriters, with a confident combination of folk, rock and country genres reminiscent of a Fred Eaglesmith.
"Although the songs' styles range from Appalachian ballads to high-octane blues, Michael's passionate baritone and gift for finding the humor and poetry in the stories of ordinary people hold them together. Of special note, "My Acceptance Speech," a witty way of summing up a life, and 'Johnny Cash Is Gone,' a tribute to the Man In Black in a style that evokes his music.--SS"
-©2008 Sing Out! Autumn, 2008 by Scott Sheldon
"Michael Jerling is one of those road-traveled musicians who's been around so long we sometimes forget how good he is. Crooked Path is how Jerling thinks most of us experience life and he has little time for self-proclaimed prophets. On "40 Days and Nights of Rain" he resigns from a human race in which "my God is bigger than your God" and retreats to a private ark with someone whose "heart's bigger than my heart." Later, in "Preaching to the Choir," he lampoons those who do so, including presidents who wave the flag but are "just heat, no light." Jerling's taut offerings run the gamut from acoustic country and folk rock to the plaintive Appalachian-style "Cold River." Each track reminds us why we should deviate from the crooked path and make a beeline for the music shop."
-Rob Weir, Valley Advocate