On the first track, I hear a distinct Van Morrison theme. Its an acoustic rocker with a country twang of a melody. Although I like the organ in the background and the overall feel, it’s just a little too close to Brown Eyed Girl for my taste, from the sha na na’s to the breakdown, its too similar. Sorry Ritchie.
Raining in Hollywood has a very nice stripped down quality, simple chords , supported by a pedal steel, a very nice accompanying harmonica which really does paint a picture of a rainy night in L.A. Now this is more like it. Very emotional, I feel the pain of the main character- written from a perspective of so many discouraged artists who find the harsh realities of the strip.
The third number Gypsy Rose has a solid backbeat that really captures small east coast inner city nightclub vibe. I love the saxophone melody weaved through this tune; a ballad of the one night stand. The gritty guitar solo, is not too fancy and fits the song perfectly. In fact, i really like this song, the best on the album
The blues rocking Goodbye Cruel World is like a Fabulous Thunderbirds song and sounds like Peter Gun from the south;a solid texas blues rock number.
Most of the album is straightforward American blues rock and drives then we get to track 10, All Go Home And Play, which is an acoustic driven song with a catchy down home melody which is also quite enjoyable,.
Now, your hard pressed to find a song more upbeat than Now I KNow What Love Is. It is a big production with lively horns and a steady acoustic rhythm and a strong backbeat- nice backing vocals. Its another Van Morrison influenced number, but without any of the trappings of his work. Its a solid original sounding tune that wil get you moving. My second favorite on the album.
Toy Soldiers really caught my attention- the melody is really captivating. A very simple acoustic tune and the closing number is a song that has a celtic atmosphere at first, capturing a childlike innocence and then builds into a more somber rock tune with an epic build to a very solid closing number.
They vocal harmonies are very well suited-it builds up, then build down and end the way it started. A very well crafted song overall.
By and large , this is a good album, most of the instrumentation blended very well. His vocals are clean and well suited to the material although I do feel that he enunciates his syllables a little too much at times for my taste but perhaps I'm being too picky on that as I tend to like the rounded edges on my hard 'T's and 'R's.(Its probably from my days in choir when we were forced to sing 'Little Old Lady From Pasadena' by The Beach Boys and our teacher made us annunciate accelera-TOR instead of the much hipper accelera-der )
Although there are some misses here and there,this album mostly hits the mark for me and i will have it in my rotation for a while if that tells you anything. I do think it could have been mixed and mastered a little better but despite the few criticisms i have, i quite like the overall result. I would say if you like emotionally driven, hard rock and blues, this album by and large will satisfy.
3.5 out of 5 stars, with a side of awesome sauce for Gypsy Rose and Now I Know What Love Is.
click here to buy the album on amazon
Rebel Set-Poison Arrow by Bill General
Upon listening to the opening riffs of their album,
Here it is, the debut Album from The Paper Crowns and if you are a fan of Americana folk rock, it is a must have. It opens with ‘River Song’, which is heavy with Jerry Garcia riffing for you deadheads, it sets a nice traveling pace and immediately catches you with a hook and never lets you go. It showcases their vocal harmonies and from there, each song on the album moves you through a variety of emotional landscapes as vivid and diverse as the American culture which seems to have inspired it.
Upon listening to the opening riffs of their album,
Poison Arrow, I am instantly taken away to a better time in the past, a past way before my time. With that I mean the days of surfing glory in the 50s and 60s, and like I said before, I never was really there.
I've never set foot on a surfboard, yet when I hear this music, I feel that I have. With each track from their album, The Rebel Set helps paint this picture of a beach off in the distance scattered with teenagers and young adults enjoying the end of the summer by taking rides on the waves with their killer surfboards.
As I listen to their psychedelic riffs and captivating organ chords, I feel like I'm on this ride that doesn't end until the last note is played on the last song on the record. I feel mesmerized and even possessed with this soulful energy brought forth by this album's ghostly and captivating tone.
I give it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars
The Paper Crowns-See You Tonight by Dan Hazard
Here it is, the debut Album from The Paper Crowns and if you are a fan of Americana folk rock, it is a must have. It opens with ‘River Song’, which is heavy with Jerry Garcia riffing for you deadheads, it sets a nice traveling pace and immediately catches you with a hook and never lets you go. It showcases their vocal harmonies and from there, each song on the album moves you through a variety of emotional landscapes as vivid and diverse as the American culture which seems to have inspired it.
The 3rd song, ‘Everyday Now’ has some wicked guitar reverb and echoes with feedback that is perfectly set up by the thumping acoustic rhythms Every song takes you someplace new but perhaps the most solidly out of place song happens to be a number called Devil Got To Play, but not because of the songwriting as much as the hard driven guitar style and psychedelic vocals, reminiscent of the Nirvanas’ rendition of Plateau, which is not necessarily a bad thing. By the time you get to it, you’ve been taken through so many musical landscapes that you are ready for it.
The one criticism is that the reverb and delay on that particular song is a bit overdone on the vocals and for me, it covers the natural beauty of Nicole Pond’s voice, but I can easily overlook that for the sheer epicnes of the song. It’s hard to choose a favorite on this album but I particularly like the tune ‘Death, Where Is They Sting?’ distinctly for its Tom Waits qualities, but that’s not to say it is anything but an original composition, it is just inherently creaky, rusty and full of pain set to a ¾ tempo. I like that.
Overall the duo has crafted a mighty fine album which shows an amazing diversity and depth which is sorely lacking in today’s music scene. If you like emotionally driven and heartfelt tunes with excellent musicianship and some of the finest guitar riffing around go and download this album right now
It earns a solid 4.75 out of 5 stars
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