Skip to main content

Gregg Stewart - Twenty Sixteen (2017)




Written by Bradley Johnson, posted by blog admin

Gregg Stewart is full of surprises. One might assume that releasing a successful solo debut and intending on following it up in the same year with your second solo release entailed writing a new slate of songs. Stewart confounds our expectations, however, and shows himself to be a musician willing to follow his muse wherever it leads by, instead, making that second solo release a covers album. It’s, typically, the sort of release we associate with long-standing acts who, entertain themselves playing old favorites after a successful run with their original material. It isn’t what we’re used to, at all, from a indie artist making his first meaningful forays into the music world on his own and not part of a band. Based in California via New Jersey, Stewart organized this collection around selecting songs from the catalogs of artists who died in 2016. Rather than some slightly mournful, solemn retrospective, however, Twenty Sixteen is a sprawling fourteen song collection that draws from rare cuts in the respective discographies of these writers and performers. Stewart makes each song his own.

There’s an artful swagger to his opening version of “You Spin Me Round” that, admittedly, doesn’t match the sheer propulsive forward-motion of Dead Or Alive’s original but definitely assumes its own character. This isn’t some sort of strictly solo effort – Stewart makes unobtrusive use of some first class backing musicians who help him transform these tunes into something uniquely his own. Their ability to straddle a line between re-interpretation and fidelity to the original is seldom better illustrated than it is on their cover of Prince’s “Raspberry Beret”. Stripped of its soft-pedaled psychedelic pop trappings, we’re left with the song’s key melodic phrase and Stewart’s voice to carry the day. These elements, alongside a low fi approach, are more than enough to carry the day. His stylistic range becomes all the more evident on the track “Sing a Song”, authored by Maurice White of Earth, Wind, and Fire fan. This leans much more towards the re-invention side of the artistic ledger, but Stewart never fails to sound anything less than confident and comfortable working in this mode.

Stewart’s avowed purpose with his cover of Leon Russell’s “One More Love Song” is to recall the glories of seminal roots rockers The Band and he does a good job of approximating that sound while still following his own path. It’s certainly the most “rustic”, countrified number on the album. He covers a song from Glen Frey’s solo career with the track “I Found Somebody” and it has the sort of easy melodic rock amble that defined much of Frey’s material. Stewart gives a bright, vibrant vocal performance full of charisma and musicality. The mood takes on a more melancholy, observant edge with his pensive cover of Guy Clark’s “Out in the Parking Lot” and anyone familiar with the Texan songwriter’s art will appreciate the care Stewart takes with both the tasteful musical backing and his affectionately rendered vocal. The album’s penultimate performance covers the iconic Leonard Cohen but, rather than hitting some of the obvious choices like “Bird on a Wire” or other tracks, Stewart pulls “Leaving the Table” from Cohen’s final album You Want It Darker and delivers an impassioned performance for a song that’s, in some ways, more like a prayer set to music than a pop song. Listeners familiar with Stewart won’t find themselves overtly longing for his songwriting instead; Gregg Stewart, instead, owns these tracks as if they came from his pen. Twenty Sixteen is a great release.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Yam Haus - Stargazer (2018)

OFFICIAL : http://www.yamhaus.com/ FACEBOOK: https://www. facebook.com/yamhaus TWITTER: https://twitter.com/YAMHAUSBand Written by Raymond Burris, posted by blog admin Yam Haus’ debut album Stargazer begins in rousing fashion. The title song opens the album with a short flurry of synthesizer sounds before shifting into stomping guitar and drum driven verses. The slashing guitar work gives the song a great deal of bounce while the drumming contrasts that with straight forward power and Lars Pruitt’s smooth, gliding vocal tone provides the finishing touch for the track. The lyrics don’t remake the wheel or aspire to poetic excellence, but they are a cut above typical fare in this style. “West Coast” has a much more retro slant than the title song, definitely recalling the 1980’s moreso than recent history, but it never looks back to that music too reverentially. The production distinguishes this song, like it does the album across the board, and has a physically engag...

The Suburbs - Hey Muse! (2017)

OFFICIAL: www.TheSuburbsBand.com FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/thesuburbsband TWITTER: www.twitter.com/thesuburbsband Written by Scott Wigley, posted by blog admin 37 years ago Minneapolis, underground new wave legends The Suburbs released their debut In Combo on Twin/Tone Records.   They built up a dedicated cult following but could never really break it big like some of their scene luminaries.   Since their formation they have released multiple singles and 6 LPs.   Their 2013 return with the album Si Sauvage reestablished the band   and, four years later, The Suburbs present their latest recording; Hey Muse!,  an even stronger album than their last. It's packed with expertly written and produced songs that are from another time.   This could have come out in New Wave’s golden era with nobody batting an eye.   The title track is a swirl of synths, reverberating clean guitars, thick rhythmic textures and smoky melody vocals that m...

Julia McDonald - Gravity (2016)

OFFICIAL: http://www.juliamcdonaldmusic.com/ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/juliamcdonaldmusic Written by Jay Snyder, posted by blog admin A 6-track indie/pop/dub spectacle is the fruit of Julia McDonald’s hard musical labor.   The songstress writes her own material and, at 19, is chasing and reaching her artistic goals with immense hunger.   This sweet vibration emanating from these six songs definitely have the pop hooks to catch a lot of ears, but those who listen closely will hear some other sounds developing in her arsenal that sets her apart from the crowded pack.   The title track is all about feeling and how to build on it; beginning as a lone keyboard/vocal arrangement that benefits from an acoustic interjection or two, as the structure of the song congeals digital beats push the chorus to great heights and everything settles into place. It showcases McDonald’s talent for wringing all that she can out of a vocal melody or musical arrangem...