Wednesday, July 4, 2012

CD Review: Collette Savard - Best Dress

Artist:  Collette Savard
Album:  Best Dress
Label:  Self released
Release date: April 21 2012

The first track on this CD is Nicer Things, which is a slow paced country song.  When I first listened to it I noticed that the vocals sounded far away.  Initially I didn’t like it, but gradually I began to appreciate it.  It was a brave measure for an otherwise straightforward song.  I could tell she had a beautiful voice, and thought it was interesting she had chose to bury it in the mix.  Then I realized my headphones were plugged in all the way.  Yep, that fixed it and put the vocals back on top of the mix as the artist intended.

The musicianship that went into Best Dress is impressive.  There are something like fifteen instruments being played on the album, but not necessarily all at once so it provides variety without being overwhelming.  Collette has a beautiful voice and controls it as an instrument and not just as a means to express the lyrics.  Her music is folk, country, pop.  I would really like to hear her sing sincere angry rock from her heart.  She has a voice that, if fueled by true vengeful hurt, would bring a level of legitimacy back to a whore of an industry………………… But that is not her style.

By song #6 I wasn’t sure about this album as a whole.  Individually the songs were good, but together there wasn’t enough variety for my taste.  Then track seven started: Are You Coming Along.  This is my favorite track on the album.  The composition is very interesting and the reverse tracks utilized in mixing changes the otherwise conventional style of the album.  The song is hooky and catches your attention more so than the rest.

I went and looked up some of Collette’s other material online.  The two main players in the project have a lot of talent, and are doing some very interesting things.  I could be missing the mark, but it almost seems like they are hungry to get out of the box.  Every now and then they create an ethereal noise that stands apart from the rest of their music.  I think it is those few glimpses where we see of what they are capable.

This is not from the album, but I like it.

Monday, July 2, 2012

What What

I received a press release that said:

Orange County Musician Hosts a Show on Airsee.com

STOP THE MOTHER FLIPPING PRESSES... Oh, wait a minute, that is what Airsee.com is for... I guess this isn't really news. Okay, go ahead a restart the presses.

That would be equal to, but not as interesting as, a press release titled:

Cleveland County woman urinates in toilet.... Film at Eleven.

CD Review: 2nd Life - Everything is Possible

I receive CDs to be reviewed and have no real rule of thumb deciding which ones to review. I chose the album Everything’s Possible by 2nd Life because they are from South Africa and I decided I wanted to hear what S.A. had to offer.

Unlike most people, I not only like, but actually really love cover songs. Some times I get excited about them. If it is a song I really like, I want to hear what one musician did with it compared to the original artist’s presentation of it. So when I got this CD and I saw the title of track 5, I went straight to it.

This band’s rendition of Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac is interesting and certainly not bad, but lacks the power of the original.  Stevie Nicks has done interviews stating how much she hates singing the song because, when written, it was Lindey Buckingham’s way of calling her a bitch and a slut. The song comes from pain and anger. 2nd Life’s version is empty of either.

The album over all is poppy and upbeat. I could find very little information on the artist (2nd life is a one man band) other than his previous band experience, but just listening to this album gives you a pretty clear idea of his musical influences. At different times during different songs your ear can taste ingredients like Kansas, Metalica, Rick Springfield, Hoodie and the Blowfish, etc.

This is a very safe album with an almost Christian Rock sound. If you have a young niece and her mom doesn’t want her listening to a lot of songs that may contain the “fuck” word, then this is a safe buy.

Check out the video for the song 2011. Even though they don’t sound exactly a like, see if the intro guitar riff makes you want to start singing “Hold On Loosely” by 38 Special.


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Side note:

For a less pretty, but more angry version of Go Your Own Way, check out the version by the punk band Seaweed.