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| From | "mgladish" <mgladish@comcast.net> |
| Subject | David Grahame's "Eric" + More |
| Date | Mon, 1 Nov 2004 00:47:57 -0500 |
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Rarely hear anything about David Grahame on the list, so I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents worth.....
Just got the cd "Eric" yesterday, so I've only been able to play through it 5 or 6 times today, but he appears to be doing a great job of outdoing himself from cd to cd. I've enjoyed all of his cds (bias noted), but each successive cd has topped the last in playing, singing, and songwriting. From the opening chord, a little "Hard Day's Night" nod, the jangly "Out of this World" sets the tone for a great listening experience. Very McCartney-esque at times. My wife came in the room at the beginning of "The Loneliest Boy" and literally asked me what McCartney song I was listening to; said she didn't recognize it. Me favorite song so far has to be "Fly", with breezy acoustic guitars and a drop-dead beautiful chorus. This song could have been twice as long and it still would have ended too soon. The CD ends with "What Everyone Should Know", a ballad of sorts reflecting on the experiences of love. In my opinion, what everyone should know is David has committed another 13 well-crafted songs to plastic that will earn him many accolades, once the disk gets in a few more hands.
While I'm rambling, a few other disks that have dropped in lately:
The Grip Weeds - Giant of the Beach (Rainbow Quartz). Starts out with two rockers, which kind of surprised me - I was expecting a more psych flavor, seeing what label they were on. The cd quickly starts blending acoustic-based tunes, power pop, psych and more rock to meet just any mood you might be in. I really like "I Believe" which leans more toward pop. Another quality effort for this group, though. Kristen's playing on lead guitar is as tasty as ever - she even gets to sing one tune and does a great job.
The Zinedines - Take Me Take Me (Rainbow Quartz). I'm not a huge psych fan (how I can say that with a straight face after discussing two Rainbow Quartz releases, only Mr. Budweiser knows), but this disk starts out with an incredible tune, "Twice Upon a Time". Not sure what part of the song gets me, the 12-string, layered chorus, breezy nature of the song. Evokes a mid-60s feel without sounding old. Then comes the title cut, "Take Me Take Me", which, get this, sounds like the group cribbed the best Grip Weeds song from the past 10 years and wouldn't let them have it back. The rest of the cd might be good, also, if I could make it to track three.
Rosavelt - The Story of Gasoline (Gaff Music). Local Cleveland band back with their third release. These guys do a good job of balancing between Alt and Pop, and continue in that vein here, adding a little ballsier guitar work this time around. They can still pop, with "The Last Heartache" and "Already Been to Hell", and even tossed in a "hit", "Broken Little Heart", buried at the end of the disk. Chris Allen, the lead singer, sounds to me like he's channeling Paul Westerberg - even some of the songs have a Replacements feel - a good thing in my book. Added Jesse Bryson, Wally's son, to the group. Didn't seem to have much influence this time around, though the times I've seen him play, he has great guitar/vocal talent. I'm going to see his old man duke it out on stage with Eric Carmen on the 26th here in Cleveland, I'll report back on who wins.
Mike
mgladish@comcast.net
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