23-11-2018, 14:35
THE REVIVALISTS ~ Take Good Care
![[Image: image.jpg?c=A0kwz7eDbggXSVR_4xXA3ASijaXJ...pAJWo=&f=5]](https://rovimusic.rovicorp.com/image.jpg?c=A0kwz7eDbggXSVR_4xXA3ASijaXJlYnq0St31qpAJWo=&f=5)
Just went and looked at a review I did of City of Sound in 2014. More or less the same adjectives and conclusion with a few updates. Funny that!
Personnel:
Ed Williams (pedal steel guitar, guitar)
David Shaw (lead vocals)
Zack Feinberg (guitar)
Rob Ingraham (saxophone)
George Gekas (bass guitar)
Andrew Campanelli (drums, percussion)
Michael Girardot (keyboards, trumpet)
Paulet "PJ" Howard (drums and percussion)
I think what I most liked about these guys when they first came to notice was their raw, impetuous energy and a sound that stood out from among the masses – they had a good recipe, managing to convey such excitement and honesty about what they were doing, as though they couldn’t believe their good fortune and were so much enjoying themselves. They might since have been tamed and polished, to a degree, which is both good and bad IMHO - there’s something attractive about a rough edge or two!
A hard-working, philanthropically-minded band, they certainly seem to be a bunch of competent musicians and David Shaw has the most distinctive voice that seems to be getting better as he goes along; having now made a bit of a name for themselves, they’ve attracted this producer and that producer, all of whose fingers in the pie have, I suspect, had the effect of somewhat muddying those lovely swampy waters. (Nothing like a good mixed metaphor! Lol!!) It was bound to happen, but maybe they can still bring it back - there are moments here of loose, louche, soulful bayou roots rock and their original joie de vivre, but for my personal taste, they are in danger of pandering just a tad too much (in terms of style) to what is presently commercially successful. I’m quite sure many listeners will have no issue with that at all and it's still a very listenable album (especially compared to some of the other filler flooding the market).
In fairness, there are some damn catchy tunes and it’s evident in their material that they do actually think about what they’re putting out there. I find myself hoping they’ll mature into being confident enough to trust their own muse somewhere down the line, and not just slide into production led pop obscurity. Hang on to your essence boys!!
Or to sum it up rather more succinctly – I have mixed but generally positive feelings about this album.
Single - "All My Friends" ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZygSY-2on0c
"You and I" ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHdkkYJypb0
"Hate to Love You" ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3knp9d1IYCI
Lead track "Otherside of Paradise" ... (not representative of the whole) ...
Just went and looked at a review I did of City of Sound in 2014. More or less the same adjectives and conclusion with a few updates. Funny that!
Personnel:
Ed Williams (pedal steel guitar, guitar)
David Shaw (lead vocals)
Zack Feinberg (guitar)
Rob Ingraham (saxophone)
George Gekas (bass guitar)
Andrew Campanelli (drums, percussion)
Michael Girardot (keyboards, trumpet)
Paulet "PJ" Howard (drums and percussion)
I think what I most liked about these guys when they first came to notice was their raw, impetuous energy and a sound that stood out from among the masses – they had a good recipe, managing to convey such excitement and honesty about what they were doing, as though they couldn’t believe their good fortune and were so much enjoying themselves. They might since have been tamed and polished, to a degree, which is both good and bad IMHO - there’s something attractive about a rough edge or two!
A hard-working, philanthropically-minded band, they certainly seem to be a bunch of competent musicians and David Shaw has the most distinctive voice that seems to be getting better as he goes along; having now made a bit of a name for themselves, they’ve attracted this producer and that producer, all of whose fingers in the pie have, I suspect, had the effect of somewhat muddying those lovely swampy waters. (Nothing like a good mixed metaphor! Lol!!) It was bound to happen, but maybe they can still bring it back - there are moments here of loose, louche, soulful bayou roots rock and their original joie de vivre, but for my personal taste, they are in danger of pandering just a tad too much (in terms of style) to what is presently commercially successful. I’m quite sure many listeners will have no issue with that at all and it's still a very listenable album (especially compared to some of the other filler flooding the market).
In fairness, there are some damn catchy tunes and it’s evident in their material that they do actually think about what they’re putting out there. I find myself hoping they’ll mature into being confident enough to trust their own muse somewhere down the line, and not just slide into production led pop obscurity. Hang on to your essence boys!!
Or to sum it up rather more succinctly – I have mixed but generally positive feelings about this album.
Single - "All My Friends" ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZygSY-2on0c
"You and I" ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHdkkYJypb0
"Hate to Love You" ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3knp9d1IYCI
Lead track "Otherside of Paradise" ... (not representative of the whole) ...
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson
