Celeste Friedman - Single 101

Celeste Friedman - Single 101

2010, Celeste Friedman

Celeste Friedman is a highly lauded singer/songwriter/composer whose work has been featured on Live! With Regis And Kelly; The Ghost Hunter; A Prairie Home Companion; National Public Radio; Music Choice and ESPN.  A 2005 GRAMMY nominee, Friedman can lay claim to a #1 album, a GrIndie Award, Indie Track Of The Year Award, and a nomination for Artist of the Year in the Netherlands.  Friedman is also a prolific author, with her most recent book, Single 101: 101 Reasons To Celebrate Being Single raising the curtain on her own life and the joys of going it alone.  Concurrently, Friedman has written a collection of songs, also entitled Single 101, which serve as a musical companion to the book.  Friedman digs deep into the emotions of joy and loss, using humor and insight to parse emotions and get to the simple truths that lay underneath. 

Single 101 opens with "The Dribble On My Pillow", an amusing little ode to night drool done in a cute, classic pop style complete with hand claps.  There's a certain cheese factor, but it's all tongue in cheek and entertaining.  "Gotta Get It Right, Gotta Get It Straight" is all about trying to get your bearings, even taking time out from a relationship to find your true north.  This is the proverbial foot out the door whose status as a relationship cliché doesn't mitigate its occasional truth.  Friedman celebrates reclaiming her bed as her own in the wake of a relationship with "Mattress, Sweet Mattress”, a bit of hokey fun that will hit home with most anyone newly single.  “The Fairytale” is a theoretical love song about what might be.  The song is full of sweet sentiment but the performance comes off a bit flat. 

“I’m Allergic To Ya Baby” is a slinky, jazz-styled number that sounds like something you might have heard on the old Dr. Demento show.  Friedman gives it a good run vocally, but her voice just can’t quite carry this one off effectively.  “I Can Change My Mind” underlines the classic line about a woman’s prerogative with a funky bass line and some of the best piano work you’ll hear in one of the best all-around tracks on the album.  “Garlic Onions And Beans” is a seemingly melancholy and dark song about the classic wards against vampires.  What could be funny comes off almost listless, bereft of energy.  “My Bra And His Underwear” is a humorous take on the comingling of a couple’s undies in light of their fading shared libido.  It’s a cute and funny bit of commentary in song that has the advantage of being informed by truth.

“Batteries Not Included” is an ode to the sort of products that make living on your own more bearable.  In this funny little tune, Friedman explores the purchase of one such item from the internet, right down to getting dressed up for the delivery and the knowing grin from the UPS man.  Everything comes together for Friedman on this number, from the vaguely nervous, almost Christine-Lavin style sense of humor to the musical arrangement.  Friedman tackles such subjects are emotional eating (“I’m Pudding On Weight”) and the unintended side effects of garments from Victoria’s Secret (“Suddenly We’re All French”) before settling into a surprisingly serious love ballad entitled “This Time”.  Here Friedman shows a bit of 1980’s pop/R&B pastiche in a tune that sounds like it should have charted twenty-five years ago. 

“Three Little Words” is a bluesy number about a partner who just can’t say the right things, and leads into the woeful melancholy of “Taken Away”.  It’s hard to discern exactly what Friedman’s intent is with this tune, but the musical approach is a bit off the beaten path and intriguing.  Friedman slips her funny shoes back on with “Barbie’s Got The Blues”, projecting relationship troubles onto America’s favorite anatomically unlikely plaything.  “Flying Solo” is a song of independence that throws off the shackles of expectation.  Stylistically jazzy and fun, Friedman channels her inner Nellie McKay for one of the best turns on the album.  Friedman closes with “Every Day Is Independence Day”, a song that touts the opportunities and possibilities made available by being single, delivered in a semi-big band style arrangement.  It’s a nice closer that supports Friedman’s sense of celebration of singlehood. 

Celeste Friedman mixes funny and serious moments on Single 101.  As a stand-alone album Single 101 has enough light and dark to give a full reflection to the ups and downs of relationships and also of choosing to be on your own.  As a soundtrack for Friedman’s book of the same name it is a sublime companion.  Not every song here works on its own in much the same fashion that not every moment or phase of life works on its own.  The musical ups and downs on Single 101 are quite comparable to those found in life, and so the album’s imperfections become an almost perfect reflection of the subject matter.  If by design this is pure genius.  If by accident then it is the sort of socio-musical accident that is the by-product of artistry.  Either way, Single 101 is an entertaining farce that pauses to uncover some of the more serious truths that lay beneath its comical face.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5) 

Learn more about Celeste Friedman at http://www.songsforcharliemusic.com/ or www.myspace.com/celestefriedman.  Single 101 is available as a CD or Download from CDBaby.com.  The album is also available digitally from Amazon.com.

Gunnar Madsen - Two Hands

Gunnar Madsen - Two Hands
2010, G-Spot Records

The first time I heard Gunnar Madsen's group The Bobs was on an episode of the Dr. Demento Show in the late 1980's. The song "Cowboy Lips" inspired me to go out and buy several Bobs albums and turned me on to acapella music. After ten years of The Bobs, Madsen has been involved in everything under the sun. He's written music for movies (Just A Kiss, The Break Up), television (Sex And The City, HBO's Asteroids), done voice work (HBO's The Rat Pack as Sammy Davis Jr.), released critically acclaimed albums for adults and children and even been nominated for a GRAMMY Award. Madsen's musical theater work (The Shaggs, co-written with Joy Gregory) has won awards for Best Original Score, Best World Premier Musical and Musical Of The Year from various groups. Every on the move, Madsen returns in 2010 with an album of solo-piano compositions (occasionally aided by Turtle Island String Quartet's Irene Sazer on violin) entitled Two Hands. Recorded at world-renowned Skywalker Sound, Madsen delivers a collection of sixteen songs worthy of its own award consideration.

Two Hands opens with "Break Into Blossom", a pretty, peaceful composition with its own internal vibrancy. The song builds slowly in strength and confidence like the budding of a flower, highlighting a pretty melody against the gentle but unyielding pressure of burgeoning life. "Kerenyi" has an opening line that sounds like a variation on Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue"; the comparison ends there however, as Madsen takes us on dark and moody journey with hints of Celtic music in its heritage. One of the more compelling pieces on the album is "Nino And Me", a depressed and disconnected waltz that deconstructs a noble beauty against the background of deep sadness. You'll have this particular composition on repeat.

"Ordinary Day" shows off Madsen's ability to hide simple beauty write in front of your eyes (or ears). The song has an incidental feel, but the pure sweetness of the theme buried in the mellow musical shell will call to you. "The Blackbird Whistling" feels exploratory, with a theme that comes alternatively in straight lines and scattered bursts. It's a wonderful juxtaposition of the steady feel of nature and the vibrant intercessions of life. "Frank Grows Flowers" is built around a similar concept, displaying the vibrancy of simple, every day actions while setting a pace that's simultaneously with purpose and at ease. There is a joyful feel to this song that cannot be denied. Madsen gets more pensive with "Down Moon", building to dark, muddy resolutions that push to break through but never quite manage, falling back into themselves to try again. The song comes to rest in a state of sadness, but there is a beauty in this struggle that shines through almost as a post-harmonic theme. "3 South Trail" finds Madsen treading a lazy/dreamy path with elements of melancholy woven in. It's a pretty set-up for the closing track, "Red Bird". "Red Bird" is jarring and beautiful, sounding at times like two separate and distinct thoughts occurring between piano and violin. This conversation occasionally aligns into brief moments of clarity where the two are so in-synch that you'll wonder how you ever thought otherwise.

Gunnar Madsen is one of those artists who seem likely to explode if he stops creating. Madsen's muse runs in some many directions it's dizzying, but nearly everything he touches turns to gold. That trend continues with Two Hands, by far the best instrumental piano album to cross this desk this year. Madsen's compositions come to vivid life on Two Hands, avoiding classifications such as classical, pop or new age by transcending them all. Two Hands is not an album you pick up for light dinner music; it's an album you buy to listen to. If you do, the music is its own reward. Two Hands is a Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Gunnar Madsen at http://www.gunnarmadsen.com/.  Two Hands is available on CD or as a Download from Amazon.  Downloads are also available from iTunes.

Review: Vote For Pedro - Cocktail Napkin

Vote For Pedro - Cocktail Napkin
2007, Vote For Pedro

Vote For Pedro is a novel Boston quartet traversing the bounds of Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop, Jazz and Comedy to rave reviews. Led by vocalist Diva Taunia (who recently lost 170 pounds and shared her experiences with the world via YouTube), Vote For Pedro creates mellifluous musical magic that is much easier to enjoy than it is to classify. Diva Taunia is an ASCAP songwriter, vocal coach, clinician, session singer and front woman all wrapped into one. Diva Taunia has shared the stage with such performers as The Bobs, Wayne Brady, Patty Larkin, Zoe Lewis, Sean Altman and The Persuasions, and has been won a shelf full of awards for her vocals both regionally and nationally. Vote For Pedro's Cocktail Napkin was released in 2006 but is worth revisiting; the mix of quality music and comedy is rare and is just too good to classify as a novelty.

Cocktail Napkin opens with Do You Trust Me, mixing A Cappella style vocal harmony arrangements in a highly danceable Pop tune. Diva Taunia has a voice people will line up to listen to and practically melts a speaker wire or too while imploring you to dance along. Even the rap serves to enhance the listening experience here. Taunia leads Vote For Pedro into one of the more unusual covers of George and Ira Gershwin's Summertime that I've heard, starting as a dark, free-form interpretation that morphs slowly into a near-frantic tripped out techno/jazz hybrid. Traditionalist may not be entirely thrilled with this one, but it's a brave, novel and successful choice. Cool Kidz answers the old question, "If all your friends jumped off the bridge would you jump too?" with a resounding splash and gurgle. Featuring Manhattan Transfer style vocal harmonies, simple bass and drum loop instrumentation and a rap/sing combo, Cool Kidz is good enough to get mentioned in the Pop category and whacked enough to earn a spot on a show like Dr. Demento. Cocktail Napkin sounds more like a college A Cappella group using minimalist instrumentation than anything else. Vocalist Shah Salmi provides and easy, sure and pleasant performance while the rest of the band kicks in some delicious vocal harmonies. Vote For Pedro wraps up with Tall Dark And Handsome, which won a CARA Award in 2007 for Best Humor Song. The ladies out there will nod in sympathy with this song, knowing that often the best looking men "play for the other team".

Vote For Pedro is a trip. Salmi is a strong performer and deserves more attention than he'll ever get here because Diva Taunia is such a dynamic figure it's easy to lose focus on the rest of the group. Taunia's voice is powerful and supple, able to belt one moment and coo a lyric whisper the next. The sense of humor here is actually funny, something that is all too rare in artists who try to be funny in song. Like the Smothers Brother before them, Vote For Pedro's greatest sleight of hand is their ability to create musically serious and significant music. Just when you think they're serious they'll throw you a curve; and just when you start to think maybe they're a novelty group after all they'll create a phrase with such harmonic purity and beauty you'll be moved. Make sure to get your Cocktail Napkin.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Vote For Pedro and Diva Taunia at http://www.divataunia.com/ or www.myspace.com/divatauniamusic. You can purchase Cocktail Napkin via Vote For Pedro’s web store.

Review: Ariel - Sure Thing, You Bet!

Ariel - Sure Thing, You Bet!
2007, Jenpet Records

San Francisco rockers Ariel’s third CD, Sure Thing, You Bet! is a collection of familiar-surrounding classic rock originals. Released in 2007, Ariel has been gigging on the strength of this CD ever since. The mix of styles and sounds on Sure Thing, You Bet! can be a tad dizzying, both for the listener and seemingly, for the band.

Sure Thing, You Bet! opens with Are You Ready To Rock?; a tasty bit of old school Rock N Roll. It's a bit hokey but all in good fun, and the guitar work is pretty impressive. Wrequiem integrates pipe organ into a Rock arrangement in a moment that will recall Styx' early Prog forays. Bordertown opens with Spanish Guitar and reminds me a bit of Trout Fishing In America if they went a more Rock N Roll route. Climbing sounds a bit like early Chicago with a slightly harder edge. The lyrics are a bit mundane but the music is great. Ariel gets a bit into the socio-political-religious realm on The Message Song and The Fine Art of Proselytizing; the latter of which takes to task those who would push their beliefs on others. The ultimate irony is that the song appears to be full of the same sort of self-righteous sense it derides.

Much of Sure Thing, You Bet! is a bit disorganized; not so much like a coherent album structure but just a bunch of songs that Ariel had sitting around and threw together to fill out an album. Most of the songs are at least decent; there's just a lack of flow to the album that can become a bit distracting. Ariel ranges from Dr. Demento style novelty tunes (Church Of The Cosmic Cookie, They Won't Play Us In L.A.) to catchy, smart tunes with pop sensibility (Halfway To Harris, Crank Up The Victrola). The Pop sensibility here is sometimes two or three decades old, but hooks don't change regardless of how much distortion or effects you put them through.

My first impression of Ariel is that they are an aging cover band who have accumulated a fair amount of original material over time and finally decided to do something formal with it. It would explain the scattershot stylistic changes throughout the album that cover Styx, Chicago, The Ramones, Motown and novelty tunes. Cover band is considered by some to be a dirty word, but most bands or musicians get started that way, and from an instrumental perspective as a singer you couldn't complain about having Ariel behind you. The vocals are a bit hit or miss but are mostly spot on. In general, Sure Thing, You Bet! is a fun and entertaining listen that will appeal primarily to Baby Boomers and fans of the lighter side of 1960's and 1970's Rock N Roll/R&B. If that's your thing, then Ariel is for you.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Ariel at www.myspace.com/arielrockstheworld. You can purchase a copy of Sure Thing, You Bet! at www.cdbaby.com/cd/arielsounds, or you can download the album from iTunes.

Review: The Energy Commission - 10,000 Hours Of The Energy Commission

The Energy Commission - 10,000 Hours Of The Energy Commission
2009, Persistence Records

Jay Weinberg is something of a folk hero. In May of 2008 he staged a protest on the roof of a gas station where he sang his song Price Gouge'n. The song had been written in 2005 about oil companies running up the prices of fuel without cause and had gained little notice. That one act of civil disobedience turned Weinberg into an overnight sensation, appearing on Good Morning America and all major network newscasts. Weinberg saw an opportunity to use his music for a cause, and with his songwriter wife and a few friends formed The Energy Commission. The Energy Commission's latest release, 10,000 Hours Of The Energy Commission, captures 11 of Weinberg's politically charged and musically entertaining compositions.

10,000 Hours opens with the song that started it all. Price Gouge'n is done up in Reggae rhythms, sounding a bit like something Dr. Demento might have played back in his show's heyday. The song is extremely catchy and danceable and sounds like it's done tongue-in-cheek. Ode To Howard Beale (No Nations) has Weinberg sounding like a cross between Cat Stevens and Eminem, exhorting listeners to see who really pulls governmental strings. The Bertrand Williams Song (Single Ply) examines the difficulties of minimum wage workers to make ends meet. The Energy Commission revisits the Reggae vault for this tune which is very full lyrically but loses much of the vitality heard in Price Gouge'n. Mediocracy (If It Bleeds) takes on the vulture-like media culture that has evolved in the US, implying that the current media environment may in fact engender violent behavior. Drug Away takes on our cultures growing dependency on pharmaceutical solutions to pain and suffering.

I have no doubt that Jay Weinberg believes strongly in a whole host of social issues, many of which he touches upon on 10,000 Hours Of The Energy Commission, but the presentation here is a bit too much for one sitting. Price Gouge'n plays like the spontaneous composition it was, coming at a time when Weinberg was writing music for the utter joy of doing so. The fact that the song turned out to be lightning in a bottle fueled both Weinberg's musical ambitions and his desire to effect change in the world around him. The difficulty is that much of 10,000 Hours doesn't have that spontaneous joy. It's very apparent that Weinberg is now writing for a purpose other than for himself; the spark of life that Weinberg displays on Price Gouge'n is in short supply on the rest of the record. This happens sometimes when an artist transitions from writing at their own pace and for their own reasons to suddenly being known and having to produce. The songs themselves are solid but devoid of the vivacity The Energy Commission is capable of.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about The Energy Commission at www.myspace.com/theenergycommission or http://www.theenergycommission.com/, where you can purchase a copy of 10,000 Hours.

Review: Steven Farro - 3 Song Demo

Steven Farro – 3 Song Demo
2009, Sound Oasis

Steven Farro is a lyricist/songwriter/band manager from Effingham, New Hampshire looking for collaborators. He submitted his 3 Song Demo for review. Not a lot of information was submitted here so we’ll do our best.

The demo opens with Too Old To Rock N Roll. This is sort of like “Glory Days” revisited. The song features a great guitar hook and a strong pop sensibility. It’s a bit tongue in cheek and sounds like something Kim Mitchell might crank out while he’s sitting around having a beer. It’s a fun listen. Giver Of A Broken Heart is schmaltzy, Broadway Rock Opera material. The unnamed female vocalist on this one is amazing. The demo closes with My Baby Text Me Goodbye. This mildly humorous novelty material, akin to some of the stuff you might have heard on Dr. Demento. It’s another fun song to listen to set to a great pop/country arrangement.

Three songs is tough to judge, but Farro does have a knack for turning phrases. There’s a certain quirky pop sensibility here that might work with the write composer, although Farr may be best suited to writing lighter fare (based on the material presented here). You can stream the songs from the demo at www.myspace.com/stevenfarro.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)