You might think 79 is a little late to be releasing your debut album, but when you've spent decades in the business as Patti Smith's longtime guitarist, you can't help wondering how many creative ideas have been quietly fermenting over the years.

The album opens with the title track, "Goin' Local," and I couldn't help but smile. It immediately reminded me of the current phenomenon Angine de Poitrine, particularly in the driving guitar work that propels the song forward. Vocally, there's a whimsical quality that brought to mind Gong, albeit in a more focused and less madcap form. It's an engaging opener that grabs you by the collar and sets the tone perfectly.

The more laid-back "This Love" initially feels a little understated. It's a gently plodding track, but there's something about it that gradually works its way under your skin, especially when the excellent guitar solo arrives around two-thirds of the way through.

I love the drums that introduce "If I Were You". As soon as the guitars kicked in, I knew I was going to enjoy this one, and that feeling was only reinforced once the vocals began. The lyrics have a wonderful flow, and it's hard not to smile as the song unfolds. There's also something in the vocal delivery that reminds me of The Byrds, a comparison further reinforced by the addition of the mandolin.

"Let's Make a Memory" is a pleasant enough track, but it doesn't quite possess the same charm as those that came before it. It feels like a song where the lyrics arrived first and the music was shaped around them. That's hardly unusual, but here the two don't quite gel as naturally as I'd hoped. Its running time of just over five minutes doesn't help either, as it occasionally feels like it meanders.

I love the guitar introduction to "A Friend Like You" and when the vocals arrive there's once again that satisfying feeling of everything falling into place. The song builds patiently before opening up with a superb guitar solo that makes it difficult to sit still. There's a great deal to admire musically, while the vocals provide just the right balance.

You can't help feeling your heartstrings are about to be tugged with "Be That As It May (May Day)". There's a subtle Wild West flavour to the guitars, but it's the vulnerability in the vocals that really draws you in. It feels like someone quietly recounting their story without any sense of urgency, and that unhurried approach works beautifully.

With "Solstice", we're brought gently back down to earth, although that's by no means a criticism. I'd heard hints of Tom Petty earlier in the album, but they're far more apparent here. The track has an easy-going charm, and you get the sense that everyone involved thoroughly enjoyed making it. That enthusiasm is infectious.

The next song, "World Book Night", is dedicated to books and the joy and wonder they contain. Once again there's a whimsical quality to the music, and for a moment I was transported back to being nine or ten years old. We had a teacher who loved teaching us songs while accompanying himself on guitar, and suddenly I was back in that classroom, with my whole life still ahead of me. Music doesn't often transport me quite so vividly.

I have to admit I wasn't quite as enamoured with "Pennsylvania Girls". Perhaps it's a geographical thing, or perhaps it's the production, which seems to lean a little too heavily on the reverb, making it harder to connect with. I think the core of a good song is there, it simply doesn't come together for me in the way the stronger tracks on the album do.

"Poppy" begins with a slow burn, and as the guitars and vocals gradually unfold you know you're in for something special. At first I thought it was a love song about a horse before it headed in a completely different direction. It's always interesting where your mind initially takes you, and this song certainly kept me guessing.

From the get-go, "The Things You Leave Behind" gives you a pretty good idea of what's to come, and thankfully it delivers. It's one of the album's more up-tempo tracks, with rousing lyrics that initially suggest a life reaching its conclusion. As the song develops, though, it becomes more about what we leave behind and what those things say about us. It sounds rather sombre when described like that, but it results in one of the album's strongest songs.

The album closes with "Yes I Will", and I was hoping for something slow and reflective. Thankfully, it doesn't disappoint. I've mentioned a few influences throughout this review, and I'm always cautious about overdoing such comparisons, but they can help paint a picture for the reader. The artist that came to mind here was Jim Croce, particularly in the guitar work and melody. Vocally there's an honesty and warmth that bring the album to a wonderfully satisfying conclusion.

After more than fifty years in the business, you can imagine this album has been quietly sitting in the back of Lenny's mind for quite some time. Or perhaps one day the lightbulb simply switched on and he decided it was finally time to make music under his own name. Whatever the catalyst, the result is a warm, heartfelt and thoroughly enjoyable album, with plenty of standout moments that reward not just one listen, but many.