|
Express-Jack’s Waterfall 2009
Anyone who has listened carefully can discern the depth, thought and creativity of Jack Licitra’s muse. His personal journeys, musical fecundity and stylistic growth have brought the Waterfall its freedom and diversity, softness of spirit and subtle uplift. Jack’s warm tenor warbles like a songbird, sparkles like dew and comforts like a soft argyle blanket. Filled with polyrhythmic percussion, muted horns, cello tracery and world beats, each song is a soft, warm caress. The new composition opens with “I Am A Rhythm” featuring cathedral organs, a Beatle groove and emancipating flights of spirit. “Hope In Exile” throbs with percussion entwined limbs, horns and Jack’s soaring largos. A cello soliloquy opens “At the Dawn” which propels through soft glades of exhortation. Old friend “Bella” writhes with Carib riddim and twisty turns of strange romance. “Send Me Your Love” drifts on wings of blue. Express carries us along on rays of hope and rails of silk essence which is just what Jack’s Waterfall sets out to do! Love At First Night- Tim Ryan
Ronkonkoma’s Tim Ryan pours out smooth Alt power rocking fueled by a McCartney vocal style and sound. Ryan has multi-tracked a poppy, bright, post-modern groove with a decidedly Liverpudlian influence. Opening with a rocking “No Other Way”, Ryan powers through a pop with ‘tude song that drives hard. “Before” has a new wave frounce that reels with Squeeze puissance and vocals that echo Tilbrook/Difford while “One of These Games” is like a ramped up Sir Paul composition as is follower “Jo, Don’t Let Me.” Through out, there is aRubber Soul and Abbey Road spunk and atmosphere updated, turned up and cooking. Muti-tracked magic done very well. Stripped Down at the Bang-Todd Wolfe Band Blues Leaf BL 9841 2010
Todd Wolfe has released, IMHO, his most direct, powerful and concise CD. A combo of acoustic slide andpower trio, the energy, solidity and clarity of vision in this disk outshines most of the new material I’ve listened to in a good while. A frequent LI visitor, Wolfe and his band carry blues weight and rocking strength to levels that meld the 2 forces into a lightning bolt of musical hurricane. Opening with “Wing Of A Dove”, we are treated to a fine shuffle driving with Delta drone. “She’s Nineteen Years Old” takes Muddy and throws in a large helping of traditional Southern roadhouse in a re-working of searing axe and re-engineered attitude more akin to Cream than Willie Dixon. “Bad Boy” is a gust of 2 step rock solid and it flows into a power chording wonderland via the old classic “Black Night.” A cooking acoustic read that rides the funk express throbs out RJ’s “Come In My Kitchen.” Todd dangles H. Wolf’s “Evil” over an edgy and jagged precipice while Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen” is given an acoustic sheen that exposes a very different song. “It’s All Over Now” boogies and the platter growls to a close as “Wreck My Life” wraps up a disk that is tasty good. Whispering Pines-Professor Louie and the Crowmatix Woodstock Records 0027 2010
On Whispering Pines, sweet soul flows down the Esopus like a Catskill zephyr and Prof. Louie is the rodeo pro who rides it. His band is as hard and uncompromisingly good as Margaretville bedrock, soft and flowing as the Ashokan reservoir and organic as the Belleayre pines. Composed of covers by Band alumni, Dylan, Warren Zevon, Leonard Cohen and Champion Jack Dupree along with several Hurwitz originals, there is a poignant sweetness to this disk well supported by clarion musicianship and vocal strength. The opener is the title tune written by Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson, taken slow and spiritual. “Nightime in the Switchin’ Yard” is a bright soul punch with much less characteristic Zevon sneer. A duo of Louie songs is next with the wistful “Between Midnight & Two” and pulsing gospel blaster featuring the Mighty Gospel Giants and Prof. Louie’s sublime B-3 on “I Wouldn’t Do It That Way.” That one’s my pick for the best on the platter. The Weight is live, spiked with heat and intensity and jamming hard and sure. Helping get the message across is Marie Spinosa’s strong and sinuous vocal delivery that is ferociously direct on the live version of Bob’s “Serve Somebody.” “Whispering Pines” reflects its locale of origin and the soul of the man as it goes from soul sweet to rock soul, from Catskill breezes to catamount roars and from end to end a fine listen.
|
