The Tripping Souls deliver fine, fun 1960s inspired rock and roll on Don’t Waste Your Life album
The Tripping Souls is the name of the studio project in which songwriter Paul Makris creates songs around his compositions. He plays all of the guitars and keyboards and sings all of the vocals. He employs bass player Wayne Whittaker and drummers Steve Chaggaris and Harrison Seller for his rhythm section. But what’s in a name? Music this cool would sound just as good by any other title.
Andy Pratt continues his fine musical journey with The New Normal album
Andy Pratt’s The New Normal CD offers up a lot of what we know, expect, and admire about this recording artist. Pratt is a journeyman on a mission. He continues to create fantastic new music that remains distinct, individualistic, and wholly original. In addition to Pratt’s fine musical and lyrical sketches, there are some very pleasant surprises near the end. If you’ve spent 2014 waiting for an album to fall in love with, this might just be the answer to your prayers.
Arthur James expresses the sublime beauty of blues on Me, Myself & I
Arthur James has finally released his much anticipated solo acoustic blues album. Me, Myself & I finds the southern New Hampshire guitarist applying his craft to meaningful original blues guitar and vocals. His voice is so hefty on this album you’d think he was seven feet tall. His guitar sounds larger than life too, due to the volumes of emotive release it offers throughout Me, Myself & I
Jane Fallon shines throughout Tangled In A Tree album
Jane Fallon puts a lot of grit into her fifth CD, Tangled In A Tree. Her songs are rugged adventure stories and she supports them with an almost strident vocal, edgy country twang, earthy acoustic instruments, and a rock and roll heart. Fallon has lived all around the United States, and she picked up song ideas from every area she had settled in. This life experience gives the singer-songwriter a variety of lyrical inspirations and a variety of song structures.
Retro CD Review: The Installers delivered on 2008 Live – Plus 6 recording
The Installers have had a fairly long history in Central Massachusetts. With the booming voice of singer Stephen Clarke and players who can match his power with their stomping musicianship, The Installers became well known for their engaging, high energy live shows. It makes sense that they recorded themselves in concert at The Bull Run in Shirley. Live – Plus 6, released in 2008, is a fine document of what The Installers have to offer a large function room full of blues and rock fans.
Jeff Root continues his quirky brilliance with The Pig In The Python album
Jeff Root comes up with an album of engaging, interesting, and fun rock and roll music almost yearly. The Pig In The Python CD is another offering from his fertile imagination. Root, from the Central Massachusetts area, has a sound unlike anyone else in the local music scene. His smooth, unique vocal timbre rides over his melody line with a self-restrained energy unlike anything heard before. His song ideas are over the top wholly original, never following the usual songwriting patterns. The Pig In The Python is a dynamite album due to Roots’ ability to remain wholly original. The man seems genetically incapable of following in the footsteps of others. And that’s a good thing.
Tony Savarino plays beautifully, masterfully on Guitararino album
Tony Savarino’s latest instrumental album Guitararino not only plays on his name. The musical themes here play upon many themes from many genres. Savarino is part scholar mining deep reservoirs of genre and history and part master technician, playing each genre with a depth of musical knowledge and skill. This guitarist combines his fantastic gifts to come up with something that is a lot of fun to listen to while it impresses with many fine touches and nuances. This album is the final in a trilogy that began with Guitaring and continued with Guitaresque. After listening to this current album, listeners will probably be hankering for those two recordings.
Daniel Ouellette And The Shobijin create more of their bizarre fun on Zizal! The Land Is Moving! Look Over There!
Danielle Ouellette And The Shobijin have just come up with another of their zany, electronic pop albums. Zizal! The Land Is Moving! Look Over There! is loaded with fun, perky electronic melodies and drum programming mixed with quirky vocal lines that make it an enjoyable listening experience. It also makes it refreshingly unique.
Shana Stack Band offer interesting treats, re-worked versions of old songs on Then And Now album
Shana Stack Band just released an 11 track album called Then And Now. This new album features reworked versions of their most requested songs, a couple done acoustic style, and two brand new songs. Longtime fans of Shana Stack Band get to hear all new versions of their favorite songs while new fans discovering the band through this disc will be treated to a classy country record.
NH’s Brooks Hubbard is onto something with Press Play album
Brooks Hubbard offers a fine selection of his original songs on his eight disc album Press Play. Hailing from New Hampshire’s Upper Valley, this singer-songwriter plays, guitar, banjo, mandolin, piano and drums on this recording. With bass from Justin Kimball and backing vocals from Kaylene Lemme, Hubbard showcases his unusually high level of talent in an easygoing manner that makes it all sound effortless.
