It�s becoming increasingly difficult to find high-quality music like this. While you might feel like you�re tripping through a time-warp (circa the early-mid �60s) on a track like �For Imagination�s Sake�, this 2001 release will have you remembering such top-rate groups as The Temptations, The BoxTops and The Fifth Dimension, especially when you recall the latter group�s covers of Laura Nyro�s �Stoned Soul Picnic� and Jimmy Webb�s �The Worst That Could Happen�.
Rob Moitoza�s phenomenal vocal range, spanning from baritone to falsetto-soprano, suits these R&B/soul compositions (almost all written and produced by Rob) to a �T�. Kaaren Moitoza, his wife at the time, is an excellent pianist and a gifted composer in her own right, contributing a collaborative effort (with Tonya Ferris) on �Lover of My Soul�. Kaaren has a solo CD entitled River of Tears, produced by Rob and on which he plays bass, his favoured instrument.
The arrangements, enhanced by the likes of Jim Coile (on sax and flute), Kenny Coulter, Larry Washington, Tor Dietrichson and Ernesto Pediangco (on drums and other percussive implements of creativity), as well as Dee Dee Mack on vocals, are superbly sophisticated and highly professional.
While most of the songs contain the word ,�love�, they are not necessariliy �love songs� directed to a romantic partner but rather global references, e.g. the symphonic smooth-jazz of �To Love Each Other�. A long-time activist (not to be confused with warrior) for peace, Mr. Moitoza is a master of succinctness, although these lyrics are far less antagonistic than his harsher (and justifiably so) Speak Out CD.
Considering the light-hearted �Bluebird� that opens the CD, the closing �Love Can Take Me Now� conveys the type of intimate sorrow, both instrumentally and vocally, that I don�t remember hearing (and feeling) since Joe Cocker recorded �I�m Guilty� � absolutely stunning!
Having gained his considerable chops over the course of many years and many bands, Rob�s music, lyrics or production work can be heard on a multitude of recordings going back to the heydays of Spencer Davis, Sons of Champlin and James �Curley� Cooke, and more recently with Orville Johnson and Nick Vigarino. |
