| CD REVIEW |
| OPEN UP AND SAY WAH! - FRANK COSENTINO |
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| Hamilton's highly under-rated answer to Robin Trower may just find it difficult to top this effort, but I'm sure anxious to hear it! He should have been headlining at Copps Coliseum, on a semi-annual basis, years ago! Right off the bat he sonically blows your head right off with "Round and Round/Electric Holy Man", which segues nicely into "You're Goin' Down". Things get a bit mushy for me on the gospel-like "Angels Wing", no doubt a memorial song dedicated to his late friends, Al Affeldt, Bert Tarrant and Don Woods, but there are some great harmony vocals provided by Ben d'Chuna, Sonia Cento Fonte and Linda Pereira and appropriately soaring lead guitar work by Mr. Cosentino. We're then thrust joyously back into a funky blues-rock groove on "Thelonius Funk", influenced naturally by Thelonius Monk. The bass was played by either Al Affeldt (who apparently died shortly after being recorded on this CD) or Stan Miczek - it's not indicated on the CD liner notes when Stan came in on the project. There are also two drummers listed (Chris McDonald and Karim) but without an indication of which songs each play on - I guess you have to be a genuine audiophile, or at least familiar with their individual styles, to be able to differentiate. I'm assuming one is the rock drummer and the other, the jazz. "Yesterdays" is a compelling "Little Wing" kind of guitar ballad, although the vocals are rough and understandably emotional here, as he continues in a regretful state of mind. The title track, a.k.a. "Blues for Alice" takes a vague gypsy-swing turn to it, with a hip bass beat to it, and the mellow jazzer "Won't Take It No More" offers some stunning sax work from Pat Carey (Downchild) and much nicer, unstrained, vocal work and unique guitar noodlings. "Mistreated Blues" is a great cap-off to the CD, a barrelhouse blues-rocker, along the lines of Johnny Winter, which also salutes Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix. Great bass work on this one, too! |
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