Lee Hazlewood, the pop svengali who wrote the Nancy Sinatra hit ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin”, died of cancer in Las Vegas on Saturday (August 4). He was 78. He was a recording eccentric who refused to acknowledge mainstream tastes; a songwriter capable of crippling fatalism (“My Autumn’s Done Come”) and playful country corn (“Dolly Parton’s Guitar”), and songs that use elements of both (“Dark in My Heart”); it’s all part of the highly contradictory legend of Hazlewood. His influence is felt all over today’s Alt. Country movement.
Jeremy Messersmith is an Elliot Smith-styled singer, with a gentle wistful voice that make his new album “The Alcatraz Kid” easy to follow and enjoy. Wonderful lyrics and thoughful melodies that have just enough hooks to keep you involved. “Old Skin” is a heartfelt love theme and very memorable here. Bits of Sufjan Stevens, The Eels and even Bowie peek through as influences other than the late Mr. Smith. The instrumental tune on “Day Job” would fit fine on an Apple iphone commercial, but the story in the lyrics is compelling here as well. “Snow Day” is an upbeat tune here and conjures up images of warm cozy nights in front of a fire place, looking for that first snowfall. “Novocain” is also another keeper, with a great chorus about deadening heartache by “Passing another needle…” My only issue here is that album is pretty downbeat, all the way through without anything that exciting to get your blood pumping. But thank goodness the lyrics are not all bleak.This is a great start for Jeremy and hopefully we’ll hear more from him in the future. Purchase the album straight from MySpace or itunes.
Jeremy’s Website | My Space | Itunes | Princess Records
Jeremy Morris is at again. To me the amazing guitar work is what makes Jeremy stand out from a sea of other instrumentalists. This new 2007 release is a collection of melodic acoustic guitar pieces similiar in style and approach to “Still Waters”. Fans of progressive guitar will love this cd. It contains 10 Jeremy originals, a Pink Floyd cover and a Genesis cover. Time to relax and let the sounds just drift over you. Sometimes I can almost “hear” lyrics in the strumming on tunes like “Child’s Play” and “Sand in the Sun.” If traditional classical acoustic is your cup of tea, then listen to “Timeless.” Much of the wonderful sound reminded me of my favorite Phil Keaggy album “The Master & the Musician.” If you don’t have that one — it is worth seeking out as well.
Excellent Modern melodic rock is the name of the game for Arthur Yoria. The dominating riffs and techno beats are very catchy on “I’ll be Here Awake” and “Permanent.” Fans of Rooney, Brendon Benson and The Strokes will flip for Yoria’s stylistic production. “Sleep is on the Way” a hearty guitar fuelled tune that borders on the epic anthem. “She Looks Like You” is another great anthemic rocker that will have you dancing in no time and shaking to the beat. “P.S.A.” is a piano based, hook-filled gem that does everything Fall Out Boy wishes he could do – emotion with absolute honesty. “I’ll Pretend” is a powerful rocker that Rooney fans are sure to enjoy, with its driving guitar, excellent melodic riffs, and catchy beats. “Sevilla” is an interesting song that starts off like a quite ballad with crashing buzz of a chorus, making it very cinematic. Last year Craig Bartock had a similar approach, that came out of nowhere and blew me away. Every song here is a keeper and Yoria’s sound is a welcome approach for a singer/songwriter. This album came out about two years ago, but I’ve just found it and boy, I’m glad I didn’t miss it.
This adult contemporary pop release follows in the footsteps of greats like Doug Powell and Cliff Hillis. The first song is the catchy title tune “Searching for a Signal” and Keith gets some help from Power pop fan favorite Jim Boggia. The songs benefit from strong lyrics and clean studio production as well as melodies. Keith’s vocals are strong here, not unlike John Faye or Roger Manning. The Manning comparison comes forth on “Postcards and memories” with guest Mike Viola (Candy Butchers). My favorite song here is the coping song “I Survived” it has lots of great guitar work and insightful lyrics. Occassionally the songs evoke a roots based sound similar John Cougar Mellencamp on many tracks, like “My own way” or “easier.” The mid-tempo “Disconnected” chorus has a little Rundgrenesque quality to it. Sometimes the songs are really good, but missing the hooks to make it great (“Independence”). That said, it is a strong release that would be a good addition to your collection. You can listen to samples of the entire album streaming from Keith’s site and he’s got some neato bonus tracks online via a secret link code in the liner notes.
