I�ve delayed reviewing this CD for one reason only: I dislike Kevin�s vocals. Some people (and most certainly Kevin himself) may condemn me for this prejudice, but there it is. When you introduce your CD with a song called �Somebody Tell Me the Truth� (which is actually a great composition having nothing to do with the quality of his vocals), you�d best be prepared to receive it. Still, that sort of criticism didn�t stop Dylan, and I doubt it will deter Mr. Cooke either. He�s a bass player (formerly with the Dark Angels) with a lot of his own beliefs to convey, and I admire and respect those beliefs; particularly as they make a lot of sense.
Notwithstanding the vocals, there is no denying that the music put forth here is at a top-notch level of sophistication, too. I didn�t recognize many of these players� names (other than guest blues-rock guitarist Rob Anthony of Coldsweat and keyboardist Martin Aucoin), and, of course, Andy Krehm (who mastered the production by Kevin Cooke and assistant Don Randall, another of the many guitarists performing on the CD), and there are way too many, in any case, to list here. The music itself is �inspired by the great horn bands of the late �60s", in particular, Mandala (on �Don�t Walk Out�), so you can bet it�s a brassy production, enhanced with various stringed and percussion instruments. David Monis, however, was a constant on the drumkit, as was Kevin on bass guitar and vocals.
A lot of critical thinking has gone into this mainly original set of solid compositions by Cooke and various collaborators, particularly his scathing attacks on politicians (�Somebody Tell Me the Truth�, �Shuffle the Deck�), the media, (�Don�t Get Me Started�), corporate greed (�Ain�t the Weather Strange�) and superficial self-identification through brand-name merchandise (�Birkenstock Baby�).
Four songs in, there is a very �horny� extended instrumental called �K Bars�, a play on the Stax horn section known as the Bar-Kays, a tune Kevin self-effacingly describes as �Oh, such blessed relief!!!� (ostensibly for the other players), but the title also refers to Kevin�s penchant for adding a few extra beats at the end of typical formats.
There are a few covers, as well, by Steely Dan�s Donald Fagan and Walter Becker (�Don�t Let Me In�), Roscoe Gordon (�Just a Little Bit�) and Elmore James (�Shake Your Money Maker�), although I didn�t care much for Cooke�s tepid rendition of the latter, despite the slide and rhythm guitar, played by Moose Moszynski.. Speaking of slide guitar, though, there is some nice work on that instrument by John Doriat on �For Love and For Gold�. Likewise, Rob Anthony does a great job on electric blues guitar on �Birkenstock Baby�.
For those who don�t mind Kevin�s singing (and it's not really terrible or anything, just strained out of its natural range), I�d encourage you to give this CD a listen, especially if you're a fan of old-school rhythm and blues. |
