| MUSIC NEWS (CDs, BOOKS, ART, ETC.) (This review has also been published at www.701.com) |
 |
| WAVE ON WAVE - PAT GREEN |
| My initial auditory impression of Wave on Wave was not a positive one. After repeating listens, I realized it wasn't the compositions, with their decidedly poetic lyrics, or even the instrumentation (of which there is plenty, with a seven-piece unit, plus guest appearances). I believe the fault lies in the production itself. Country-rock music doesn't intrinsically lend itself to a great variety of different rhythmic patterns, so when the volume level on a relentlessly unswerving drumbeat is brought to the forefront, it detracts from the musicality of the otherwise well-crafted songs. At times, the ubiquitous violin got a bit tiresome, too. along with the occasionally overwrought vocal approach. "Wrapped" is a perfect example of this. Pat Green has a soft voice that doesn't lend itself well to yelling. The opening track is an obvious nose-thumbing jibe at superstar bands, particularly the Rolling Stones ("long black limousine, pictures in magazines�no super model for a guy like me") while nevertheless emulating the trademark sound of that band. I personally prefer Bad Company's "Simple Man" where this subject matter is concerned. The outstanding tracks on Wave on Wave, where innovation is concerned, are the bluesy "I'm Tired", "Elvis" (incorporating a laid-back funk groove and featuring a cameo appearance by Willie Nelson on vocals) and the blues-roots track, "If I Was the Devil". "Eden's Gate" is fairly appealing, as well. There are two versions of the radio-friendly title track (the first done in an '80s-sounding electric guitar style that reminded me of Mike (Rutherford) & The Mechanics' "In the Living Years"), while the repeat is more along the lines of Bob Seger's style. The second version is an uncited track at the end of the CD and is actually a great marketing scheme that serves as a "double-take" for those listeners with a short memory. Heavyweight guest performers on "Wave to Wave" include Chad Cromwell (Peter Frampton/Mark Knopfler, Neil Young) on drums, Brent Rowan (George Strait, Shania Twain, Sting, Brian Wilson, Randy Travis, Neil Diamond, Olivia Newton-John, Alabama and Lynyrd Skynyrd) on electric guitar, John Jarvis (Harry Nilsson, Art Garfunkel, Stephen Bishop, Air Supply, Ringo Starr, Jimmy Buffett) on piano, Alexander �Sasha� Ostrovsky (Bering Strait Band) on steel guitar and Curtis Wright on background vocals. Other notables appearing on the CD are guitarists John Carroll (also with Kevin Fowler) and dobro/steel guitarist Mike Daly (Miller/Gibson Band). If the tracks were re-positioned so that "Eden's Gate" and "Wrapped" were on the second half of the CD and "Barricade" on the first half, I could then safely say the collection of songs was, in fact, "wave on wave" rather than "ebb and flow". |
| TO RETURN TO THE CD REVIEW INDEX, |
 |
 |