Text © Robert
Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2020
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CD Reviews: November 2020
Dalia Davis
Keep a Clean Engine
Teal Power Records / daliadavismusic@gmail.com
Davis is a Boston-area veteran singer-songwriter who has released this
collection of mostly original multi-genre tunes. When she sings, what she
brings up to me is the solo singers from Britain during the 1960s, like Celia
Black, Lulu, and a bit of Dusty Springfield. This is especially true for her
cover of the standard, “When Sunny Gets Blue,” which is a highlight here, with its
lite jazz tones. For some reason, this comes across to me, especially on the
bridges. Speaking of which, one of my fave cuts is “Beatles Bridges,” which is
exactly what it claims to be, a bunch of bridges from Beatles classics into a bluesy,
mostly cohesive song, even though the content is all over the emotional map. She
starts of strong with “The Power of One,” sliding into the gospel-tinged “Don’t
Give Up the Fight.” The harmony vocals enhance the sounds nicely as they are
right up front, often equal to Davis. The title track is a nice, almost Jacque
Brel-ish type melody that swirls around the sound, without going dark. Another
highlight is the gospel and doo-wop infused “Wash Away.”
Jack Phillips
Night and Day
Magnolia Group Records
Jack has a nice musical sound that is somewhere between Billy Joel and Elton John,
as in the opening original “I Love New York,” mixed with a bit of New Orleans
jazz, especially on the likes of “The Old Grey Hat,” and maybe even some soft Southern
Rock with “No One’s Home.” The second half of the CD (aka “the flip side”) is mostly
jazz/standard sounding, such as “Let’s Drink to Us” and “Take Them to
Manhattan.” A more commercial rockin’ sound is given in “No More Waitin’,” one
of the better cuts here. The album concludes with a I-IV-V instrumental that
relies on a ragin’ guitar by Caleb Quaye on “Down in the Jungle Room” (assuming
that’s a Graceland reference). Phillips’ voice is a bit rough at times, but it is
unique and actually works really well with the styles he brings forward, which
I would say is a highly boogie, almost Cajun-focused sound, with a deep southern
tone. It’s an enjoyable listen, especially when he gets his soft jazz boots on.
Various
The Boston Rock & Roll Anthology Chapter 21
Valrulven / joeviglione.com
Joe Viglione has been putting out compilation albums, generally for bands
coming out of the Boston/New England area (although this one is more far
reaching), for decades, in various forms, such as his Anthology and The Demos
that Got the Deal series. And with this, his documenting rock’n’roll history
continues. The 21 tracks start off with heavy rocking duo (guitar and drums) 3D
that originated in the 1980s (not to be confused with New York’s 3-D from the
same period), with the anti-drug song, “Anything But Peace.” Pamela Ruby
Russell’s first cut, “Space and Time,” has almost a hymnal tone with a
military-paced back beat that works together beautifully. Her voice is sweet
and the overdubbing with itself works, to give it a powerful punch; her second
cut shows off her voice even more. Here she has a Judy Collins intonation,
which really operates for her. The production is also quite enjoyable, being
full without feeling over-kneaded. Working with the likes of Peter Calo and
Andy Pratt certainly give her an extra zing. Karmacar – Heidi Jo Hines and
Nico’s “As It Is” has a bit of a 1970s New Agey feel to it, though I
believe it would have been stronger without the self-overdubbing and just let Heidi’s
voice be by itself; their other cut on the CD, “Who’s Foolin’ Who?”, gives a
better example of her voice, and is superior of the two, with a catchy melody
and improves on the catchy harmonies. On a more esoteric note is the next two
cuts – “Downtime” by the Complaints and “Faraday” by Phil DaRosa
– which use a bit more electronica to posit their songs, especially the latter,
which is kind of long in the tooth at nearly 6 minutes. The former has a mild
Beatleseque tone. Kitoto Sunshine Love spreads the smooth ‘70s soul
sound in the beautiful “Proud Soul Heritage.” Worth checking out; her second
track, “Love You,” is equally as strong and arguably shows off her voice even
more than the first cut, which was thoroughly enjoyable. Yeah, I would buy an
album by her. Fittingly, Slapback follows with its lite funk “Guardian
Angel (Radio Mix)” that is cheerful and fluffy in a good way. Hard rockers Empty
County Band have been reviewed on this blog before. Their first track, “Until
the End,” is a slow grinder and burner, but the vocals need to be a bit more up
front in the mix; “Skeptical” is much stronger all around and a better listen,
but both are good. Joe Black leads a guitar-centric metal group that
wails with “Blackenstein.” If you like the guitar god sound, this mostly
instrumental screamer is for you; for “Monster,” Black is joined on vocals by
Jeffrey Baker. This cut is a more traditional rocker that switches between slow
burner to a wild ride, which should please any metalhead. The lyrics are a bit
silly (especially the chorus), but the guitar makes up for it. Tom Mitch,
Jr.’s soulful “Table Scraps” reminds me a bit of Joe Tex, which is a compliment.
Harmonious pop rockers Greg Walsh’s New Ghosts presents “Counting Down
to Zero (From 1),” which has a late ‘60s sound mixed with early ‘80s echoey production
styles. Mad Painter’s exuberant “The Letter” (not to be confused with
the Box Tops song) has a bit of a Mod sound mixed with Ian Whitcomb’s bounciness,
especially in Alex Gitlan’s vocals. As a note, a personal fave of mine from the
Boston scene, my pal Kenne Highland, plays bass. Next up – and rightfully so –
is a cut by the man himself, Joe Viglione, with his original “Thought
About You.” Backed up by Jay and Scott Couper (who played with Denny Laine in
the ‘80s), Joe presents one of the better songs I’ve heard from him in a while
(and I like his stuff). It’s light without being sophomoric, and has a harmonious
catch that could easily play on the radio and have people singing the chorus
with him. Following is Boston musical veteran Dalia Davis, with “Eleven
and a Half.” Reminding me of Harriet Shock here, Davis shines in a song about
reminiscences. Fire in the Field’s “Bossman,” has a bit of an ‘80s rock
sound that works, but somewhat harmless and generic, with harmonies and a cowbell
sound. Concluding is “The Ballad of the Rock Star,” by Matty O’. This is
a nice way to end, with a smooth Irish rock sound that fits well into the
collection. Matty gets a couple of opportunities to show off his voice, which
is appealing. Overall? This is a pretty damn decent collection of different
styles, from singer-songwriter to heavy metal wailing, and it all works
together. You can tell Viglione worked hard on the order of presentation of the
songs, and he has a nice flow going so there isn’t an equivalent of a film’s
jump cut. Everything flows pretty smoothly, and as a collection, it all meshes
well. And if that wasn't enough, there is a really well thought-out glossy booklet that comes with it that is full of artist and song info and nice color pictures. Stunningly done.
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