Review: Modest Midget - The Great Prophesy Of A Small Man

Modest Midget - The Great Prophesy Of A Small Man
2010, Multi-Polar Music

The Netherlands' own Modest Midget is back with their first full length album, The Great Prophesy Of A Small Man, the follow-up to their 2008 EP, Partial Exposure. Classic and progressive rock guitar are at the roots of The Great Prophecy Of A Small Man, as guitarist/singer/songwriter Lionel Ziblat infuses the album with his unique style and sound.

After the brief encroachment of "Follow The Noise", Modest Midget breaks into the wonderfully angular "Contemporary Ache. The guitar work here will remind you a bit of Steve Howe from some of the classic Yes albums as Modest Midget walks you through a brief and dark-timbered history of popular music from the roots of Jazz to today. "Troubles In Heaven" has a highly melodramatic feel, like something that might come from a stage show. The guitar work is again a treat, as Lionel Ziblat refuses to be boxed into a niche as a guitarist, drawing on different styles and influences with each song. "Coffee From Yesterday" continues the guitar goodness, a two-and-a-half minute instrumental that builds like a modern rock symphony, keeping the energy and melody high aloft.

"Back From My Trip" is a humorous misadventure of a vacation gone awry that's simply an excuse for Ziblat to show off some more of his impressive guitar tricks. On "Home Seek", Modest Midget shows off some impressive CSNY-style harmony vocals in a heartbreaking tale of unrequited love. "Jorge Knows How Difficult A Musician's Life Can Be" finds Modest Midget going through wonderful melodic fits in the best instrumental on the album. It's progressive rock with a distinct European and Mediterranean influences in melody and sound. If you don't find yourself dancing along you might want to call the paramedics. "Buy Me!" finds Modest Midget heading to middle of the road early-1980's rock with a tight, compact arrangement full of melodic guitar and rapid-fire lyrics. "Evolution" continues with this unusual meld of styles, offering up some of the most interesting melodic work on the album. Modest Midget closes with "The Last Straw", an expansive and perhaps ill-chosen closing track. The energy and vibrancy of The Great Prophesy Of A Small Man is clouded by this track, which sounds like a musical orphan that caught on at the last moment.

Modest Midget continues the impressive display of progressive rock virtuosity that they displayed on their debut EP, Partial Exposure. Lionel Ziblat certainly knows how to dial it up on guitar, infusing new and unusual sounds into classic forms that should engender more interest in both progressive rock and the other roots he draws from. The Great Prophesy Of A Small Man is likely to set Modest Midget up for a few more nominations and perhaps even an award or two. It's that good.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Modest Midget at http://www.modestmidget.com/ or http://www.lionelziblat.com/. The Great Prophecy Of A Small Man has an official release date of May 9, 2010 in the Netherlands, but you can purchase it now online through CDBaby.com or iTunes.

Review: Kevin Burgess - Put Yourself Out There

Kevin Burgess - Put Yourself Out There
2009, Kevin Burgess

Westford, Massachusetts-based singer/songwriter Kevin Burgess makes post-genre waves on his latest album, Put Yourself Out There. Burgess eschews a particular style, incorporating whatever styles/sounds that seem to fit each given song. Folk, Country and Rock mix with international rhythms and sounds and Burgess' saxophone to create original musical tableaux. Burgess gets help from daughters Sofia (Djembe) and Gabrielle Burgess (Bongos), as well as from Greg Loughman (bass), Mike Connors (drums), Eric Kilburn (mandolin, weissenborn, guitar) and Lori Diamond (vocals).

Burgess opens with Little Bird, a pensive and circular meditation on an injured bird as a metaphor for someone who's been hurt. The arrangement is smooth and simplistic with solid solo work on the saxophone, but the vocal line is listless and the lyrics are bland and repetitive. On the whole the song is okay, but perhaps not a great opener to the album. Burgess hits a mildly jazzy CSNY note on The One And Only, mostly for the vocal harmonies and his occasional vocal similarities to Neil Young, but the song itself is on the bland side. Heal My Heart finds Burgess heading for more of a country sound than we've heard thus far on Put Yourself Out There. The song has more energy and life than those that have preceded it, and Burgess sounds a bit like Neil Young, particularly as he moves toward and into his upper register.

The funk comes out on So Beautiful, one of the liveliest and most enjoyable songs on the album. You can tell sometimes when the band was having fun, and that feel emanates off this song like heat off the pavement on a summer's day. With Connection, Burgess attempts a heartfelt love song, but the lyrical choices turn what might have been a sweet if overly simplistic song into a chuckler. In the chorus there's a line "Can you feel it, can you feel it, can you feel it now" that got me to thinking about the AT&T commercial (can you hear me now?) and the song is forever so tainted in my mind now. Burgess goes for sweet and sentimental once again on Mother's Love. The song is successful on sweetness, analyzing with an awkward simplicity the impact of an emotion without ever really capturing the essence of it. Put Yourself Out There winds down with Broken, a bland commentary on human nature and the inability accept ourselves for our selves.

Kevin Burgess is mired in influences and good ideas on Put Yourself Out There, and scores occasionally, but more often than not it seems as if performances fall short of intent. Burgess has a passable voice and a simplistic songwriting style, but there's just not a lot here to really dig into. Heal My Heart and So Beautiful find Burgess at his best; the rest of the time its a matter of mildly pleasant music that doesn't make a lot of impact.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Kevin Burgess at www.myspace.com/kevinburgessprojects, where you can purchase Put Yourself Out There on CD or Digitally using Nimbit.

Review: Mark Adam Miller - Ain't Life Good

Mark Adam Miller - Ain't Life Good
2009, Mark Adam Miller

Mark Adam Miller brings his down-home Louisiana Swamp Rock influence to Nashville Country on his debut album, Ain't Life Good. A highly creative singer/songwriter with personality plus, Miller has the same sort of charisma that made Garth Brooks an international superstar, and writes music that will sit as well with fans of modern country as it will with Country fans of an earlier age.

Ain't Life Good opens with the rocker You Don't Know Jack, a highly radio-friendly tune that borders on Outlaw Country. You Don't Know Jack is very well written, but shines as much from Miller's personality, which takes up residence in the song and resonates. I Like That You Do is a gritty love song with real commercial punch. The chorus is the sort you find yourself humming/singing days after hearing the song. I'd Do It Again heads for the Mix Tape pile; a mature love song for the married couples out there. Miller breaks into sludgy Blues-Rock on Favorite Ex-Wife, a darkly vibrant ode to past loves (or one, at least). There's an element of humor in this song, and the arrangement is contagious.

Ain't Life Good is mildly catchy; the sort of tune that does well on Country Radio without making a huge impression. Miller's personality still shines through the song, but he has pulled back a bit from the first few songs on the album. Karen Bailey and her Dolly Parton vibrato sit in on Fragile, a sensitive ballad about being different. The song itself is decent, and Bailey's voice is eminently listenable, but Miller and Bailey go together like peanut butter and chocolate. He Don't Belong Here is a bit vague, but plays like the heartbreaking story of someone who has lost the life he's known. The protagonist is locked inside himself; seeing his loved ones come and go without understanding what's happened and without being able to respond or interact. It's somewhat unusual fare for any form of popular music, much less country, but the song works in much the same vein as James Taylor's Frozen Man.

Livin' Our Life Away is a bit more straightforward, playing to a bland Pop/Commercial Country sound sure to gain some attention from radio programmers but probably enough to get it widespread airplay. Bring It On Down is very catchy, walking the line between Country and CSNY-style Folk/Rock. Ain't Life Good closes out with an alternative mix of Fragile, this time with Karen Bailey as the sole vocalist.

Mark Adam Miller is the sort of songwriter who will eat well the rest of his life even if he never performs one of his own songs again. The fact that Miller is a strong performer on his own is gravy. Miller's voice isn't the best pure voice in the Country world, but his sound is wonderfully textured, warm and full of life, effectively glossing over any perceived deficits. Ain't Life Good has its rough moments, but on the whole is a strong debut effort from an artist with the world at his feet.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Mark Adam Miller at http://www.markadammiller.net/ or www.myspace.com/markadammusic. You can purchase Ain’t Life Good as either a CD or Download from Amazon.com.

Review: Kevin Carlson - Museum

Kevin Carlson - Museum
2008, Kevin Carlson

Kevin Carlson is an Atlanta, Georgia based performer whose roots run deep in the singer/songwriter tradition. Folks like Dan Fogelberg, Joni Mitchell and Kenny Loggins heavily influenced Carlson, who has been playing and writing songs primarily on a 12-string acoustic guitar since the 1970s. Carlson has seen some real success in the last year, with five songs licensed for use on MTV, Oxygen and E! in October of 2008. All five songs are available on Carlson's debut CD, Museum. Carlson has also seen his songs chart on internet charts such as UBL.com, where he was the #1 pop artist for 8 weeks in early 2009. Writing primarily from his own life experiences, Carlson touches on love, loss and the generalities of life on Museum.

Bethany's Wood leads off the album, a remembrance of a place Carlson played as a child which was itself a remembrance. It's an ode to simpler times and mourns what is often lost with progress. The song is a gorgeous and wonderfully written soliloquy motivated by a sentimentality that is real. With the bar set so high, Carlson delivers in fine style with Miracle. Carlson is an adept story-teller in song, here delving into the lost relationship between a father and daughter as the father sits on death's doorstep. Healing isn't always physical, and the miracles given to us aren't always the ones we ask for. Miracles is a breathtaking demonstration of both facts. Carlson lightens the mood with Hold My Hand, a sweet love song about how the little things can lift us the most. This is probably one of the best and least cliché love songs I've heard in some time. It could be taken as a simple request or a proposal; either way, expect Hold My Hand to be a mix-tape and wedding staple.

Carlson gets in a cute song about his pet pooch called Little Dang Dog. It's a love song that any pet owner will understand. Museum is about being in love for all the wrong reasons and the effects it can have on a person. The story is well told and ends on an empty note, much like the relationship it memorializes. Other Way Around is about the struggle a musician or business person who travels faces between the love of the road and the love of family ("because my heart is where my home is, it's not the other way around"). Other Way Around is a tremendous piece of song craft. Remains Of Yesterday and December Days both seem to focus on the need to look forward. Remains is a general song, whereas December Days is much more personal and deals with the death of a loved one. December Days has the potential to be a real tear-jerker, particularly if the story therein touches upon a story from your own life. Museum closes out with AnnMarie, a touching ode to imperfection and love. AnnMarie displays perhaps better than any song I've heard how sometimes it is the imperfections in the ones we love that bring out best in us.

Kevin Carlson has this ability to write deeply emotional and personal songs without slip-sliding into the Valley of Cliché or sounding like a false balladeer. Carlson shows a talent for turns of phrase and for memorializing people, events and places in song so well that each song breathes with their life's blood. His melodies and arrangements are ultimately pleasing, wrapping each story in a web of song that's irresistible. Carlson is a rare talent, and Museum is a gift. It's rare for a songwriter to have mastered melody, arrangement and lyrics as completely as Carlson has. Names that come to mind are Jason Plumb, Neil Young, Dan Fogelberg and Bruce Cockburn. Museum is a must have CD, a Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc. Make sure you spend some time with Kevin Carlson soon.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Kevin Carlson at http://www.kevincarlsonmusic.com/ or www.myspace.com/kevincarlsonmusic. You can purchase a copy of Museum at www.cdbaby.com/cd/kevincarlson or download a copy through iTunes.