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| Apart from some excellent recordings I received by Australian rocker Rob Tognoni, Toronto expatriate, Pat Savage, and Belgian musician, The Flying Snowman (Eric Geurts) and his young prot�g�e, Yanah, XRey�s D�j� Vu is a rare and welcome addition to my collection of modern European blues and blues-based rock music. The superb production was recorded in two days in May 2005 and mixed by Fran�ois De Schryver and Fab at Studio 338 in Brussels, Belgium, and mastered by Paul Abbott at Zen Mastering in San Diego, California.
This very tight band is fronted by song composer and harmonicist Reynold "XRey" Pereira (of Singapore) on vocals, Sa�d Karume (of Tanzania) on a Jeff Beck Stratocaster guitar, Patrick Pletinckx (of Belgium) on bass and Claude Hoffmann (of Luxembourg) on drums. Guest players on the recording are Mario (Supermario) Dragon on blues harp (on �Jette Swing� and �Rock �n� Roll Party Animal�), Jean-Phillipe Sauvageot and Jean Hamonts doubling on keyboards (on �Brussels Blues�) and Fab on backing vocals (on �Juliana�). Reynold�s lead vocals are fluid and possess a strong but not abrasive timbre. The players are all obviously well-honed on their respective musical instruments as well. The CD opens with the catchy bass-heavy rock anthem, �Fighting on the Front Line�, and this is followed by the title track, �D�j� Vu�, a relaxing �60s-sounding, psychedelized-guitar rocker (a signature sound throughout the CD) with layered vocals. Next up is the faster-paced funky jazz-blues heartbroken lament of �All Night and Day�, with guitar work similar to that favoured by Hamilton�s Frank Cosentino (an aficionado of the wah-wah pedal). �Psycho Man� is a hypnotically-swaying blues-rockin� sway, along the lines of J.B. Ritchie�s interpretation of Muddy Waters� �Champagne and Reefer�. The rapturous guitar work is outstanding on this track. The appropriately-titled �Jette Swing� is just that � a swing blues with a rockabilly feel to it, with the aforementioned harmonica accompaniment and the band retaining a sophisticated smoothness in delivery not unlike Montreal�s Beau Kavanagh and the Broken-Hearted. �Juliana� is initially played in a laid-back funky tempo (with a foreign-tongued intro), in its loving tribute to the much-titled (and now deceased) Dutch monarch, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, but gradually builds to a dynamic crescendo. Canadians could use a similarly updated nod to their own monarch, Queen Elizabeth, although Ken Baird has already created a classical ode to the Queen Mother on his charming �Victoria Day� (on Martin�s Road). �Norma Lee� is another rocker with prominent bass lines (and, indeed, a bass solo), clean but insistent guitar trills, and a driving backbeat. �Schapenkop�, a lighthearted two-minute-plus rockabilly snapshot owing heavily to Brian Setzer�s �Stray Cat Strut�, further demonstrates the band�s musical versatility and diverse influences. �Brussels Blues�, a slow-blues showcase with classic potential, is even more reminiscent of Beau Kavanagh (even though that band didn�t originate this mellow, smoky-voiced mix of blues, jazz and swing that I�m so fond of). The organic keyboarding by both Sauvageot and Hamonts deliciously complements the already-present talents of the regular band members � you�ll want to put this on �repeat� if you want an extended slow dance with your sweetheart. The CD ends with �Rock �n� Roll Party Animal�, which has a strong Kinks feel to it (e.g. �You Really Got Me�), but the rhythmic pattern is modulated somewhat to accommodate the progression from garage rock to psychedelic guitar. D�j� Vu might also be considered d�j� entendu, but it�s still a great collection of music, harkening back to the days when music was still exciting. For more information on XRey, visit www.xrey.net. |
| D�J� VU � XREY |
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