acoustic guitar

REVIEW: Jaz King – Changing Gears (2006)

Review written in 2006.

JAZ KING – Changing Gears (2006)

How refreshing it is to purchase a CD in this day and age that doesn’t say “ProTools by…” in the liner notes.  That’s the kind of CD that Changing Gears, by newcomer Jaz King, is.  It’s earthy  without being too rough.  Miss King is a young Canadian singer/songwriter who’s been writing her own material for over half a decade.  It’s easy to be cynical in these days of Canadian Idol, and think that any young female coming out can’t write or play her own instruments.  Contrary to the norm, King sings, writes, and plays guitar and piano.  She’s backed by Steve Foley on guitar and drums, and Jon Van Wingerden on bass.

On first listen it would be easy to lump King in with the likes of early Jewel or Dayna Manning.  However, her voice is more breathy, more human.   Dare I say it; it’s darker.  The occasional high note does remind us Dayna Manning, but King’s material is not nearly as pop.  Whereas most mainstream artists overpolish their music in the studio, King has wisely left the arrangements to the basics performed by herself and her studio band.  The acoustic guitar parts are lush, reminding us of Jim Cuddy.  There is some nice electric guitar as well, the parts on “Close Your Eyes” reminding us of Ty Tabor.  During the intro to “Southbound” there’s some nice soft electric guitar that you can only get from a tube amp and it sounds perfectly appropriate.  The drum parts courtesy of Steve Foley fill in all the gaps, providing enough interesting fills without being overpowering.  Background vocals (uncredited) are complimentary and don’t cramp the mix.  Unfortunately the bass is mixed a little too low, which is sad as it’s the kind of dexterous playing that this reviewer loves.  If it only it were cranked a little higher.  Care to do a remix for us, Miss King?

King’s songwriting is definitely above average, demonstrating her years of working on her craft.  Her melodies are memorable and original.  Where she really shines, however, is in her lyrics.  “October” is sweet, dark, bitter and bright all at once.  This is something that some songwriters take years to achieve, but King has arrived on the scene as a fully developed lyricist.

The best track, without a doubt, is “All I Have”, which she wisely left for last.  Featuring King alone on piano and vocals, it stands out from the other tracks, but ends abruptly.  Whether she did this knowing the listening would wish the album wasn’t over yet isn’t clear, but it was a wise move.  Too many bands make the mistake of putting too much material on their debuts.  This tires out the listener, but King leaves them wanting more.  A very clever move.  Intentional?  Perhaps, or maybe that’s just the way the song sounded in her head.  Or both.

Clocking in at 35 minutes, Changing Gears gives you better value for the money than the average Weezer album.  Let’s not forget that in the storied old days of vinyl (remember vinyl?) 35 minutes represented a long album.  These nine tracks don’t overstay their welcome, though it would’ve be nice to hear King and her band do a nice bright fast one.  The packaging is extremely pro, a nice white & blue digipack.  All the photos inside and out follow an automobile motif (Changing Gears, get it?) and this follows through to the stickshift design on the disc itself.  There is a full colour four page booklet, which unfortunately suffers from the kind of pixilation you get from a bubblejet printer.  Because of this it’s hard to read the handwritten lyrics inside, which is tragic.

The great thing about a debut album like this is that usually it only hints at what the artist is capable of.  In the future, King should be able to carve out her own identity.  She has the necessary playing skills and songwriting ability to grow with each release.  An artist like this would benefit from a University tour, giving her a chance to build a national fanbase and her chops at the same time.  Let’s hope Jaz King gets that chance.

SOUNDCLOUD LINK.

4/5 stars

 

VHS Archives #133: Winger perform 2 acoustic tracks on Start Me Up (1993)

Fantastic interview by Erica Ehm once again, with Reb Beach and Kip Winger.  Lengthy session too, 23 minutes in total!  Starting with some country riffs (Reb on 6-string, Kip on 12-string), the boys defied the expectations of the early 90s and proved they could really play — and how!  For the Winger guys, it was already “first thing in the morning”, otherwise known as “mid-afternoon” to us;  Kip had his cup of coffee ready!  (Really good coffee, according to Erica.)

Sad observation:  We’ve seen past interviews with groups like Bon Jovi, where throngs of fans were banging on the big MuchMusic windows.  Winger only got a couple curious onlookers pulling faces.  Too bad.

Songs played:

  • “Can’t Get Enuff” (at the 5:30 mark)
  • “Who’s The One” (17:30 in)

Topics covered:

  • Why were Winger not as big in Canada as they were at home?
  • Playing for musicians
  • Videos / “the image”
  • The art of songwriting / lyrics
  • Why was the new album called Pull?
  • Reb’s instructional guitar video
  • Chris Robinson, Lars Ulrich, Beavis and Butt-head, and other critics
  • Playgirl magazine!
  • Being “rock stars”

Winger ends the session with a blues jam.

Awesome acoustic tunes and a fantastic interview.  Check it out below.

VHS Archives #90: Aldo Nova – “Modern World” unplugged live performance and interview! (1991)

By request of the mighty JOHN T. SNOW of 2loud2oldmusic.com!  

Canadian rock sensation Aldo Nova made his very first visit to the MuchMusic studios in July of 1991, on the Pepsi Power Hour hosted by Michael Williams.  Getting down to business, Aldo plays an unplugged “Modern World” from his brand new album Blood on the Bricks!

This nearly 20 minute segment is Williams and MuchMusic at their finest.  Aldo is engaging and frequently demonstrates songs on acoustic.  Subjects covered:

  • Signing a deal / starting out with “Fantasy”
  • Producing early Celine Dion recordings
  • “Runaway”
  • “Blaze of Glory”
  • His band and working with a singer instead of singing himself

 

REVIEW: Mike Slayen – DUDE: A Guitar CD (2018)

MIKE SLAYEN – DUDE: A Guitar CD – 12 Notes & the Truth (2018 Mike Slayen)

San Diego’s Mike Slayen crowdfunded his latest album, titled DUDE: A Guitar CD.  I think Mike was born with the perfect name; after all, he’s just slayin’ it on this album.

The format is laid back acoustic instrumentals.  Upon first track “Chill”, you’ll be hooked immediately.  Slayen’s writing on DUDE is consistently memorable.   The arrangements have just enough meat — bass, drums/percussion and occasional keys back up the main guitar melodies.  The key element to each song is the lead melody.  Similar to fellows like Joe Satriani, Mike writes catchy guitar melodies to take the focus.  Each track is memorable for that reason.

The musicianship and recording is immaculate.  The warm atmosphere is inviting for return listens.  DUDE is a perfect CD for chilling and relaxing and it’ll work particularly well on the porch during summer.  Mike explores different tempos, and demonstrates an intimate knowledge of the acoustic guitar with his intricate picking.  Yes intricate at times, but never anything less than enjoyable.  DUDE is a guitar CD but not necessarily for guitarists.  DUDE is just a good CD to have for folks who enjoy relaxing and memorable music.

Check out songs such as “The Secret”, “Ice Cream” and “Chill” for a taste of what Mike Slayen does on DUDE.  There are exotic and latin influences along the way, and enough variety to make the CD an easy one to listen through.  There is even one fairly heavy piece — heavy for acoustic anyway — which is the title track “Dude”.

Go to MikeSlayen.com and check out DUDE.  Discerning fans of instrumental guitar music are unlikely to be disappointed.

4/5 stars

Full disclosure:  I first “met” Mike Slayen as a reader on this site.  I believe that this review is impartial and I would have given DUDE the same score even if I didn’t know Mike.

REVIEW: Ani DiFranco – Little Plastic Castle (1998)

Part 3 of the Aaron Challenge:  He has challenged me to get out of my comfort zone.  Together, we will be reviewing some of the albums he bought in Toronto during Record Store Excursion 2012.  I’ve never heard any of these albums before, in fact I know almost nothing about most of these bands.  But I do know I sold a lot (a lot!) of Ani DiFranco during my time at the record store.

Aaron paid $2.99 for this, at Sonic Boom Music.

Check out his review here!

Ani_DiFranco_-_Little_Plastic_Castle

ANI DIFRANCO – Little Plastic Castle (1998 Righteous Babe)

I remember working at the store back in ’98, and the general reception from Ani DiFranco fans to this album was positive, but mildly critical.  There was a vibe that she had sold out for bigger success.  That was just what I was hearing.

Having not heard the previous albums, all I can say is good music is good music.  Yes, the production is lush and not what you’d think of “indy”.  Listen to those mariachi horns on the title track.  Not exactly low-fi.  But it sounds great!  What an upbeat, entertaining track.  Awesome.  Not to mention her guitar work is excellent.  The lyrics seem to be about public perception of what she should and should not be.

“Fuel” is one I’d heard before from Aaron.  I liked that one too.  I like when she’s goofy. This is beat poetry with a backing band.  Normally I go for a lead vocal with melody, but this works due to Ani’s well-composed expression.  From there it’s on to “Gravel”, a fast melodic one with more dexterous picking from Ani.  Another great tune, with melody to spare.    It’s a sparse arrangement, just guitar and voice with some percussion, and that’s it.

Drums introduce “As Is”, a soft pleasant song with barely audible keyboards in the background.  It’s laid back and slightly mournful but also playful, and pretty much perfect as is (pun intended).  “Two Little Girls” is dark, a tale of a difficult childhood.  Ani’s excellent picking, and a bouncy backing bassline, makes it entertaining, but lyrically it seems loaded with pain.

“Deep Dish” is the first song I didn’t enjoy.  It features samples and long spoken word bit, and is very rhythmic.  It did nothing for me, though.  Sorry Ani.  Nothing personal!  “Loom” however is a brief (under 3 minutes) explosion of drums and acoustic picking, more along the lines of what I like.  “Pixie” follows, one I didn’t click with.  Ani sings in a soft whisper, expressive as ever, I just didn’t like the song.  It didn’t have enough melody or punch for me.

A long song, “Swandive”, is a bit of a change of pace since most of the previous tunes were in the 4 minute range.  This one builds slowly.  “I’m gonna do my best swan dive, into shark infested waters,” sings Ani, while picking more of those great guitar parts.  “Glass House” totally changes the pace, with a bouncy wah-wah infested bass melody intro.  This is great.  I didn’t see that coming, nor the weird caterwauling trumpet that followed it!  Ani then whispers the lyrics, underlined by a pulsing bass, with the odd electronic effect.  Then just as you’re getting used to it, the drums kick in, accelerating the tune forward, and the vocals get angry.  Ani is nothing if not diverse, I’m learning, even within one song.

“Independence Day” is a beautiful song, melodic and passionate, slow and pretty.  A hit song in any just world.  The final song, “Pulse”, is another slow builder, with a beat poetry vibe to the verses.  It’s not brief either!  14 minutes!  It sounds a bit like a jam, but I wonder, since the whole album has more of a vibe of being carefully assembled rather than jammed out.

Little Plastic Castle is an excellent sounding album.  The guitars are lush, full and clear.  The snare drum sound is perfect. Production-wise, it’s a total triumph (and self-produced by Ani).  I think the album tends to sag a bit in the middle, after such a fine start, but it’s still a great album.

4/5 stars

MIKE AND AARON GO TO TORONTO