The Jeff Golub Band - Three Kings

The Jeff Golub Band - Three Kings
2011, Entertainment One Music

Jeff Golub made his name in rock n roll, touring and recording with Rod Stewart for seven years, and then performing similar duties for Billy Squier across seven albums and three world tours.  As a solo artist, however, Golub has returned to his first love, the blues.  Golub's most recent album, Three Kings, pays tribute to music of Albert, B.B. and Freddie King.  Golub is joined by Henry Butler on piano and vocals; Andy Hess (Gov't Mule) on bass and Josh Dion on drums, percussion and vocals.  Special guest appearances by Robben Ford and Sonny Landreth augment a dynamic musical experience that was recorded live and accentuated with very few overdubs.  Three Kings was produced by Golub and Bud Harner and recorded in Brooklyn, New York.

To call Three Kings a blues album isn't as descriptive as it might be.  This is a solid mix rhythm and blues album, mixing vibrant instrumentals with rollicking numbers that are blues in form but rock n roll in spirit.  The highlights of the album generally involve Henry Butler on vocals ("Let The Good Times Roll", "Born Under A Bad Sign",
and "Three Kings").  Sonny Landreth's slide guitar work on the instrumental "In Plain Sight" is brilliant, as is dual guitar work of Robben Ford and Golub on "Side Tracked".  Butler steals the show on piano in "I'm Tore Down", but the entire ensemble is hot on what turns out to be the standout track of the album.

Jeff Golub hits mostly golden notes on Three Kings.  His guitar work is outstanding throughout, even if the energy on a couple of tracks falls a bit flat.  All new students of blues/rock should include Three Kings in their early education, as The Jeff Golub Band knows their craft and interpret the numbers here with pizzazz.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about The Jeff Golub Band at http://www.jeffgolub.com/ or on Facebook.  Three Kings is available on Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.

Review: Jeff Beck - Emotion & Commotion

Jeff Beck - Emotion & Commotion
2010, Deuce Music Ltd/ATCO

What can you say about a guitar player who was good enough to replace Eric Clapton? Jeff Beck has achieved legendary status in the world of rock n roll, having played alongside folks such as Jimmy Page, Jon Paul Jones, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, David Bowie, Hans Zimmer, Paul Rodgers and Carmine Appice. Pink Floyd even wanted Beck to replace Syd Barrett but were never brave enough to ask him. Beck has been both lauded and derided for his flashy guitar style over the years, but he has also not sat on his laurels, which include five gold and two platinum albums and three Grammy Awards. Jeff Beck takes another expansive step with his latest album, Emotion & Commotion, due out on April 13, 2010 on Deuce Music Ltd./ATCO.

Emotion & Commotion opens with the serene and mellow “Corpus Christi Carol”, showing deep nuance and strong melodicism. “Hammerhead” is much more lively; a guitar-led instrumental that lapses into a languorous state. “Never Alone” is similarly somnolent, but fits in with a beautiful arrangement. Beck tackles the Harlen/Harburg classic “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” in one of his most lyric and gorgeous performances on the album. On “I Put A Spell On You”, Beck plays second fiddle to guest vocalist Joss Stone, who thoroughly makes the song her own. Beck provides a brilliant secondary voice here, showing a wonderfully reserved style of play that ties the song together like a finely wrapped gift. On “Serene”, Jeff Beck’s guitar mingles with the voice of coloratura soprano Olivia Safe to create moments of abstract beauty.

Imelda May adds her sultry alto to the mix on “Lilac Wine”. This may not be the most dynamic performance on the album, but it is the most riveting as May and Beck mix it up in gentle undertones. Beck takes a Malmsteen turn on “Nessun Dorma” from Giacomo Puccini’s Turnadot. Beck performs with a full orchestra, choosing a very refined role for his guitar. Joss Stone comes back for one more turn on “There’s No Other Me”. Stone and Beck each are great on the song as a solo performer. As a duet, this song goes sadly awry, as there’s no clear indication that Beck and Stone are actually playing together. Stone in particular knocks it out of the park with a thrilling vocal performance, and Beck hits all of the right notes, but there’s little sense that either considered the other as part of the performance. Emotion & Commotion closes with “Elegy For Dunkirk”, with Olivia Safe providing her vocal talents once again. “Elegy For Dunkirk” is a tough closer, more focused on plodding notes than any real sense of progression. Safe is exquisite, as expected.

Emotion & Commotion is a solid if inconsistent effort. Jeff Beck has heard the criticism over the years of being too flashy, too fast, etc., and appears to be determined to undue those criticisms on Emotion & Commotion. If anything, Beck over-compensates at times, drawing out notes and phrasing to a point where the concepts of progression and melody become lost. Beck is a fantastic guitar player at base, and proves it throughout much of the album, but the highly lyric sensibility of the album may not sit well with fans of his older material. On the whole, Emotion & Commotion is worth listening to, but isn’t likely to go down among Beck’s best.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Jeff Beck at http://www.jeffbeck.com/. Emotion & Commotion is available as either a CD or Download from Amazon.com. There is also a special edition that includes a DVD and a Japanese pressing with two bonus tracks.

Review: Jarrett Fenlon - Sprung

Jarrett Fenlon - Sprung
2010, Jarrett Fenlon

San Francisco's Jarrett Fenlon is a performer with two distinct personalities. On one hand is the cultured bluesman, singing with a mostly lyric voice and pop mentality that puts a nice sheen on songs about hard knocks. On the other hand is the passionate balladeer that is primarily influenced by folks such as Van Morrison or Rod Stewart. This duality has been on display in San Francisco for some time now, as well as up and down the West Coast in small venues as Fenlon has worked on paying his musical dues. Fenlon brings both personas to his sophomore album, Sprung,

Fenlon has a great voice for the blues-based material, a lyric tenor with a gruff edge and a world-wary approach that's perfect for the working man's art that is the blues. On the ballads Fenlon can be hit or miss, occasionally struggling for pitch and tone. Both voices make ample appearances on Sprung, which opens with the Breezy folk/pop of "Autumn". This is a great bit of songwriting and a perfect way to kick off the album. "Love Slave" is an entertaining blues-based tune about how powerless love can make you feel. Fenlon is convincing as a blues vocalist in spite of the smooth sound he showed on "Autumn". "Boots" become an object of affection on this fun number with exquisite instrumentation. Musically this is the best offering on the album.

Fenlon digs into his first bossa nova on the title track, a study in fear of commitment from the male perspective. On "Love A Little Bit" you'll hear the first hints of pitch and tone issues as Fenlon sounds quite uncertain in an awkward folk ballad with horns. Things are a bit better on "From The First Moment", but difficulties persist. The arrangement is a pleasant one, but the song and performance pale in comparison to the more blues-based material. "Mean Ol' Woman" is the well-written story of an uptown girl who falls in love with a downtown boy. The song uses humor both descriptively and as a weapon and will be a must in concert. Fenlon closes with the cliché ballad "True Love". The arrangement is decent enough, but the song just doesn't have any spark and Fenlon's vocal issues make this a tough choice.

Jarrett Fenlon is of two minds as a performer: the Bluesy side works very well; the lyric side is much less consistent. Sprung is a solid effort that leaves ample room to grow. Some of the material on Sprung absolutely soars, and at other times it seems to be grounded. Over time, Fenlon will pick through these steps and find a path that suits him well. Right now it sounds as if he's still working it out.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Jarrett Fenlon at http://www.jarrettfenlonmusic.com/ or www.myspace.com/jarrettfenlon. You can purchase Sprung on CD from CDBaby.com. If digital is more your speed, pick it up from Amazon.com.

Review: Atoosa Grey - When The Cardinals Come

Atoosa Grey - When The Cardinals Come
2009, Grey Matter Music

Atoosa Grey was born in Tehran, Iran and raised in New Jersey. These days she's a New York City-based singer/songwriter writing highly melodic and poetic songs and playing at venues such as Joe's Pub and The Living Room. As a first generation citizen of the US, Grey grew up with a rich blend of Iranian and American cultures and values. This is reflected deep in the imagery of her fourth album, When The Cardinals Come. As a child, Grey's mother believed birds were visiting spirits, but for Grey the red bird is a sign of hope and luck and recurs as a sign throughout the album.

When The Cardinals Come opens with All These Flowers, a gentle song done in an almost 1960's Folk/Rock style. The song is about waiting to find the right moment to come along; the moment when that special someone walks into your life. Neither urgent nor passive, it reflects someone at peace with the idea that the world will unfold when it’s ready. Great Big World seems to be about the conflict that happens at times between relationships and dreams, the choices we make that place one above the other. Grey's writing and performance are nuanced with a real lyrical flow, and the melody is gorgeous. When The Cardinals Come is a mature and pensive love song that sticks with the theme of biding time. The arrangement is beautiful, massaging your eardrums with each passage.

Grey's cover of Maggie May is very well done. Very few manage to match Rod Stewart's take on this particular tune, but Atoosa Grey is in the conversation. Grey gets prospective perspective on Yours, exploring what a relationship might be like if it were ideal. Yours is one of the most "real" feeling songs on the disc; melancholy with a bit of grit underscoring the depth of heartbreak between the lines. Drive is a bit of ear candy; to be honest I didn't even try to keep up with the lyrics. Listening to Grey's piano weave in and out of the other instrumentation like the lifeblood of the song was so enchanting that the rest didn't seem to matter. Melancholia returns on Radio, an esoteric song of moving on (or not). The narrator herself is unsure and vacillates between stay and go. While When The Cardinals Come starts out with a sense of peace and certainty that all will work out, Stars leaves the listener with another picture. Stars is written from a well of insecurity, a history of loss and a growing skepticism that all will work out right.

Atoosa Grey writes on many levels, and I suspect that if you sit five people down to listen to When The Cardinals Come you'd have a number of songs here that would end up with five interpretations. For me, When The Cardinals Come seems to dwell in the chasm that exists between hope and hopeless melancholy. Atoosa Grey manages to pluck all the strands of tragic beauty from the cloth that binds these two states and weaves them into elegant musical vignettes. When The Cardinals Come isn't necessarily an album you'll play incessantly when you first buy it, but I suspect it's one of those albums you'll still have and play regularly ten or twenty years from now; the musical version of a fine wine.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Atoosa Grey at http://www.atoosa.net/ or www.myspace.com/atoosamusic. You can purchase When The Cardinals Come as either a CD or Download through Amazon.com.

Review: Lee Alexander & Co. - Mayhaw Vaudeville

Lee Alexander & Co. - Mayhaw Vaudeville
2009, Lee Alexander & Co.

Houston, Texas’ Lee Alexander writes from the heart of Texas in his heart. Using the same wit, intelligence and rustic flavor as folks such as Steve Earle and Lyle Lovett, Alexander has a reputation for crafting masterful musical stories. With a 2007 Independent Music Award for his debut album, Out Of Place, Alexander follows up with his sophomore effort, Mayhaw Vaudeville.

After the brief prologue of Ballnese Room (Overture), Alexander gets things rolling with Miles Between; a Folk/Pop gem with a big, pretty chorus. Reminiscent of later Great Big Sea and Pat McGee Band, Miles Between deals with the dissatisfaction of being in a relationship with someone who just doesn't not live up to expectations. Mayhaw Wine mixes early Rock N Roll and R&B elements in an acoustic Folk setting. The song has a definite sway and plays like an instant classic. These Days has one of the best melody lines on the disc, sounding a bit like Blue Rodeo meets The Cash Brothers in a highly enjoyable turn. My favorite song on the disc is Wheel; a paean to the pursuit of dreams and ambitions that recognizes that life is a gamble. The roulette wheel is used to illustrate the point here in poetic, intelligent and melodic bit of acoustic Blues and Folk.

Okemah Moon sounds about as classic country as you can get. It's a story about forbidden love and the almost certain conclusion it will come to. Somewhere, the spirit of George Jones smiles down on this song. Alexander lets us eavesdrop on one side of a conversation about escaping small town life in Carol Ann, a poignant tune full of ugly truths. The song needs a companion piece, however, as this is a sliver of a very good story that could stand telling. Alexander proceeds to cover the traditional Liverpool, England anthem Maggie Mae (not the Rod Stewart song). A favorite of sailors for better than a century, Maggie Mae tells the story of a prostitute and was long the unofficial theme song of Liverpool. Alexander's version is compelling and reserved; very well done. Union Street heads right for the Mix-Tape Magic pile in a touching performance where Alexander is in his absolute best and most velvety voice. Alexander sounds a bit like the Beatles on Mr. Walker's Epilogue, creating a near-perfect Pop tune with great vocal harmonies and a sound that could only be inspired by The Fab 4. Green Room Mirror (Curtain Call) is a great example of melodic and melancholy Pop. The story-line is benign compared to the beauty of the melody. Alexander closes out with an untitled track of a Tin Pan Alley jazz tune that might be called Paradise For Me. It's a brief epilogue but done perfectly to era and very entertaining.

Lee Alexander & Company display serious musical chops on Mayhaw Vaudeville. There's intense love for the sounds of bygone eras evident here, but also a fresh energy that enervates both the songs and the listener. Alexander has one of those voices you simply don't want to stop, and the arrangements are both pleasurable and challenging. Make sure you spend some time with Lee Alexander & Co. and Mayhaw Vaudeville. It's a bit off the beaten track but worth every step.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Lee Alexander & Co. http://www.alexandersongs.com/ or www.myspace.com/alexanderlee. Mayhaw Vaudeville is available through Noisetrade on a pay-what-you-wish arrangement for download, or you can get the download for free by providing the email address of five friends! CD copies are available at shows, but if you contact the band through their MySpace page I'm sure they'll be happy to help you out.

Review: Jason Yates – Jason Yates

Jason Yates – Jason Yates
2009, Vapor Records
Jason Yates is one of the most respected Hammond B3 players in the business, having played with folks such as Mazzy Star (Fade Into You); Natalie Merchant (Tigerlilly Tour), the 2 PC and Macy Gray. His keyboard skills are undeniable, yet it's always interesting to see how a top-notch instrumentalist transitions to the front-man role either of a band or as a solo singer/songwriter. Yates made that jump with Angeleno, and returns on October 6, 2009 with his self-titled disc, Jason Yates.

Jason Yates opens with My Way Out, a piano-driven rocker that harkens back to an older sound; part Rod Stewart and part Elton John with a bit of Ben Folds added in for seasoning is an apt description of the sound here. You won't be able to resist the desire to pop and sway. Nobody So Far continues in a similar vein, embracing a 1970's singer/songwriter aesthetic with a melancholy (think Wallflowers) look at failed expectations. Yates has an everyman quality to his vocals that puts the listener immediately at ease, and the gentle arrangement is the perfect fit. Paper Tents finds Yates engaging in a comfortable bit of Americana with ties back into the late-1960's, early 1970's Folk/Rock scene. It's a pleasant listen.

I Run is a somnolent little tune with a melancholy air and a decent melody. Written either from the depths of depression or the bounds of sleep, I Run flows slowly like a mountain. To Chance has the same sort of classic sway to it heard on My Way Out. It's a song of regret about a relationship that didn't end up where Yates might have hoped. The arrangement is solid has an instantly likeable quality to it. Expect this to be a concert favorite. Sing For You closes out Jason Yates on a familiar sleepy note; a love song for the lovelorn and weary.

The tempo and affect on Jason Yates was a bit much for my taste in the end. As slow and relentless as a river, Yates pours out the waterlogged contents of his heart in songs that rarely vary in approach, sound or style. What's charming at two or three songs becomes wearisome well before the ninth and final song concludes the cycle. Jason Yates might be the theoretical love child of Leonard Cohen and Hope Sandoval, or perhaps he's just a guy who writes sad songs; either way he'll find fans, but you really have to be in the right frame of mind for this one.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Jason Yates at www.myspace.com/jasonyatesofficial. Jason Yates will be released on October 6, 2009; you can pre-order a copy through Amazon.com.

Review: Rod Stewart - The Definitive Collection

Rod Stewart - The Definitive Collection
2008, Warner Brothers

Rod Stewart. There aren't many names bigger in rock and roll. From his early days with The Jeff Beck Group and The Faces to his long-standing solo career, most everything Stewart has touched has turned to Gold (sometimes Platinum). Rod Stewart is a two-time Hall of Famer, inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1994 and the UK Music Hall Of Fame in 2006. With sixty-two (62) hit singles, including twenty-four (24) in the top ten and six (6) number ones, Stewart has spent a good part of his life on the pop charts. Stewart was also recognized by the World Music Awards in 2001 with its Diamond Award, indicating over 100 million records sold. It's not surprise that any greatest hits package would need multiple discs to properly represent Stewart's career. The Definitive Collection boasts two (2) CDs and thirty-one (31) of Stewarts biggest hits. It's a bargain but will leave hard core fans wanting.

Don't get me wrong. All of the hits are here. The Definitive Collection chronicles Stewart's career from the perspective of a life-long radio listener might know it. This is for fans, casual fans and newcomers who might like to get to know Rod Stewart a little. If you have all of Stewart's albums you won't find anything new here, but the sonic treatment provided to (especially) the older tracks might make it worthwhile anyway.

The set opens with Maggie May, perhaps the most iconic of Stewart's hits. Also included are such classics as You Wear It Well, Sailing, You're In My Heart, Young Turks, Tonight's The Night, Some Guys Have All The Luck, Forever Young, Downtown Train and Do Ya Think I'm Sexy. Throw in unplugged/live versions of Have I Told You Lately (That I Love You) and Reason To Believe and the previously unreleased Two Shades Of Blue and you have an incredible collection that will please fans old and new.

Rod Stewart's The Definitive Collection isn't really definitive. There is so much more great material in his catalog that could have been included in such a title. Nevertheless, this is probably one of the best balances of content and value you'll find anywhere this year. Stewart's legion of fans still goes crazy when he takes the stage. Years of performing have added an extra rasp to his voice and he's not as wild on stage as he once was, but he still has charisma to sell a song that is almost unrivaled in popular music. This is a great way to get to know Stewart's material, or a great reminiscence for a longtime fan!

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Rod Stewart at http://www.rodstewart.com/. You can purchase a copy of The Definitive Collection at Amazon.com or wherever music is sold.