CD Review: Shane Palko “Pick Me Up”

Shane Palko is a singer-songwriter who is also a world traveler. The reason for that is because of the time he has spent on the road traveling from one country to the next performing music from the many albums he has recorded over the years. With how many miles he has amassed while traveling on his own and with the band that helps back him up, it comes as no surprise that Palko’s music contains a great deal of songs that have to do with the idea of traveling.

For his new album entitled Pick Me Up, Shane Palko’s latest release comes complete with cover art (courtesy of artist Hannah Kelleher) that represents various modes of transportation used to get from one location to the next. The newest album from Palko even begins with a track that deals with that very topic.

Along with the ever-present idea of travel that exists within the lyrical content of many of Shane Palko’s songs, another thing that exists within much of Palko’s songs is the Folk/Folk-Rock approach to the music. This inclusion of a lighter approach to the music gives the songs from Shane Palko a rather strong laidback feel. That laidback feeling to the music gives Pick Me Up, the latest album from Shane Palko, a solid direction that lasts for the entire release.

Pick Me Up, the new album from Shane Palko, begins with the track “Traveling/Wandering”. The track contains a light, easy feel to the music. As a result of the light approach, the track would easily desacribe as being Indie Rock. The easy feel of the music on the track also seems to be perfect for using the song itself as a track in a roadtrip soundtrack. The easy musical approach of the Indie Rock music in “Traveling/Wandering” brings to mind the lighter music that had been produced back in the seventies. In fact, “Traveling/Wandering” would have been right at home being included in AM radio pop/rock formats in the seventies.

Shane Palko continues the traveling concept with the next track of “Circus Dog”. While the lyrics of the track deal with walking over to a neighbor’s hose instead of traveling halfway around the world, there is still the idea of moving. And much like with the previous track, “Circus Dog” also contains a light, easy quality to the music of the track. While the previous track would have felt at home in AM pop radio formats from the seventies, “Circus Dog” feels as if it would be right at home in a current radio format within the Pop/Rock genre.

As the listener makes their way through the tracks that make up the Pick Me Up album from Shane Palko, it becomes rather apparent that the album contains a certain theme of movement threading its way throughout the songs. And right along with the feeling of travel that winds its way through the lyrical content of Palko’s songs, the continuing feeling of Easy Listening music also winds its way through the tracks.

While many of the songs on Shane Palko’s release deal with travel, no matter how far that trip is, there is one track on Pick Me Up album that deals with a slightly different takes on travel.

With the track “Starship,” Palko gives the idea of travel a different spin. “Starship” is a track that features lyrics that deal with a person being seemingly all alone in the world and trying to survive as the rest of the universe goes on around you, whether you’re in a starship or you just think you are. The music of the track features a Light Rock feel that brings to mind the lighter fare created by the likes of Seals & Crofts.

While the vast majority of the tracks on Shane Palko’s latest album are songs that deal with some sort of travel, the album does contain a few tracks that do not deal with travel. One of those tracks is the third track of the release entitled “Better”. The track’s lyrics deal with the singer talking to a friend he has not seen for a while. Palko sings about being glad to catch up. The music of the track contains one of the strongest deliveries. The music even contains a driving feel to it; however much of a driving feel a Light Rock song can have, that is. “Better” ends up being perhaps the best track on the new album from Palko.

Shane Palko’s latest album contains one other track that does not deal with travel. In fact, the song “For Juniper” is a track that contains no lyrical content at all. Taking the Light Rock music that has filled up the rest of the album, Palko created one track that strictly dealt with the sound of the acoustic guitar and the rest of the instruments that were used to bring Palko’s Acoustic Rock to life. Like the rest of the album, the music “For Juniper” contains a smooth, easy feeling to the music. But without words to get in the way, what results is a track that comes across as a Jazz-like track with a laidback approach. The song of “For Juniper” would easily fit on any Smooth Jazz radio format.

With Shane Palko’s choice of subject matter on the album being traveling, the tracks blend together to create a release that feels more unified than most other albums. And for those who like their music on the softer side of things, the Pick Me Up album from Shane Palko is just what you’re looking for.

 

For the music of  Shane Palko, check out the track “Better” HERE. 

For more information, check out Shane Palko’s PR firm of Whiplash PR & Management by clicking on the logo for the company. 

 

CD Review: Dan Hazlett “The Corner of My Eye”

Dan Hazlett is a singer-songwriter, guitar player from the state of Michigan. With his style of writing, Hazlett’s easy listening music would fit alongside people like Christopher Cross, Jim Croce and James Taylor. Hazlett is a seasoned musician who has several releases in his discography. The newest one, The Corner of My Eye, was released in 2012.
The Corner of My Eye from Dan Hazlett begins with the track “Alchemy of Fish”. The folk-rock song has a simple feel to the music and sort of brings back the feeling of the writing of John Denver. The lyrics to the song about living off the earth also have the same John Denver-like quality.

The next track on the album is “Empty Room”. With this track, you can tell that Dan Hazlett is the type of writer that can tell a good tale in the lyrics of his songs. “Empty Room” is a song about two people on different paths who end up needing each other. The lyrics of the song are written using free verse, making the listener pay attention more to the story than to the music of the track.

On the song “Alien,” the listener gets to experience the true talent of Dan Hazlett as a guitarist. The first third of the song features the guitar as Hazlett plays some very beautiful and moving instrumental jazz. When Hazlett’s voice does appear on the track, the song takes on a different kind of feeling than the first part of the track. The lyrics of the song have a bit of pain in them as Hazlett sings a very touching song about a boy who is dealing with cancer and the kids he calls friends who decide to stand by the boy as he goes through Chemotherapy. The song is sung from the perspective of the kids on the baseball team who are standing by the boy with cancer. The moving song once again shows Hazlett to be a very good storyteller. The music, lyrics and guitar playing from Hazlett on this track make “Alien” one of the strongest tracks on the release.
The song “Postcard from Paris” is yet another example of Hazlett’s ability to create a story in song. The track features music that is part folk and part jazz. The jazz part of the melody goes well with the visuals of the subject in the song reading the postcard he received from someone he knows who went to France.

With the song “The Other Side of Dawn,” Dan Hazlett creates one of the fullest sounding tracks on the release The Corner of My Eye. The addition of background vocals by a choir of voices and the inclusion of the trumpet and piano on the track really add body to the track. The song contains a lot of emotion in the lyrics to the song as the lyrics tell of two people who are going their separate ways.

The Corner of My Eye from Dan Hazlett comes to an end with the track “Where the Blue Meets the Blue”. The song features a folk-like approach to the music and features a fiddle that adds to the beauty of the music. Like the songs that came before it, the lyrics to “Where the Blue Meets the Blue” have a very strong affect on mind as you can almost see the pictures that Hazlett describes in the song.

The album The Corner of My Eye from Dan Hazlett feels very much like a collection of short stories as Hazlett writes very straightforward lyrics that tell it like it is. The music on the album is performed with style and lends itself well to the lyrics written by Hazlett. You only come across an artist like Hazlett once in a while and his album The Corner of My Eye is a joy to listen to.

Click HERE for the video to the song “Alien” from Dan Hazlett.