 |
| CD REVIEWS |
 |
| TEMPORARY MEASURES - CHRIS VICKERY CD Review by Diane Wells (Also published at www.701.com) |
| This collection of songs is an interesting mix of blues, soul, funk, roots, rhythm and blues, smooth jazz and soft, sometimes ambient rock (along the lines of Bryan Ferry, especially on �Camouflage�) and electronica. Most of the songs are layered with a brass section and choral background vocals. Some of these innovative compositions simply defy categorization, criss-crossing established genres and inventing brand-new ones. Bassist/songwriter Chris Vickery (David Clayton Thomas, Lennie Breau, Bob Seger, The Majestics, John Lee Hooker, Jackie Wilson, etc.) has a singing voice unlike any other I�ve heard. He maintains a relaxed vocal approach (not quite a baritone) that stands well on its own, despite the back-up offered throughout. There is a long line-up of side players and background singers, a list of which I found almost illegible on the tiny, faintly printed liner notes. Some of the more well-known names from Toronto that I deciphered were guitarist Domenic Troiano (recently deceased), slide guitarist Colin Linden, vocalist Mary Margaret O�Hara, bluesharmonicist/guitarist Michael Pickett and drummer Mike Sloski. The instrumentation and rhythms are often is complex and are providing by way of penny whistle, flute, bodhran, fiddle, saxophone, keyboard, tabla, trumpet, concertina, harmonica, drums and various guitars. There�s no way to get bored with so many different styles happening from one song to another and, on occasion, even within individual songs, unless you prefer your music with a fairly quick tempo. The songs I preferred were the slide guitar-keyboard-harmonica-flavoured �Mornin� Time Train� (even though I felt the trumpet was extraneous), �Tartan Crossing�, which appealed to my Celtic roots, and for its percussive novelty, �Midnight�s Children�. �Maybe� comes closest to following a conventional slow-blues rhythm and features some nice saxophone work by Bob Brough (I believe). The CD ends on a fairly live note, with �Tatem�, which underlines Chris Vickery�s skill on bass guitar, without being blatant about it. Temporary Measures, recorded in 2002, is a sophisticated, tasteful production that deserves a revisiting. |
 |
| TO RETURN TO THE CD REVIEW INDEX, |