CD Review: Daniel Coloprisco “Winter’s Song”

Sometimes an untapped potential needs time to mature. That was the situation with singer-songwriter Daniel Coloprisco who started writing songs in his early years and then turned to more pressing things like making a living. But after spending time in the Information Technology field for years, Coloprisco decided that it was time to see about returning to the music field where many songs he had composed were just waiting for the right time to be unleashed. So now, he is turning to his music and is beginning to allow the world to hear what was never available. Until now, that is.

Just recently, Daniel Coloprisco released a two-song EP entitled Winter Song. That new EP from the songwriter consists of two very different songs with very different musical approaches.

The new two-song EP from Daniel Coloprisco begins with the title track of the release. The track “Winter Song” finds Coloprisco creating a song that feels very much like a song that would have come from New Age artist Jim Brickman. The song has the same Classical/Jazz approach that Brickman features in his music. The song also features the vocal styling of singer Jes Hudak, a singer whose own music can be found under the moniker of Ponymane. She can also be found adding her voice to the musical project known as Neon Void. On this track, Jes Hudak’s vocals come clear and strong, which give the song a generous amount of additional beauty. This goes along with the beauty that was already there in Daniel Coloprisco’s piano playing. The two musicians combine to create a track that would fit alongside songs from the likes of Barbra Streisand, Harry Connick, Jr or anyone else that falls into the “pop” category of music. “Winter Song” would also easily find a place on any Smooth Jazz radio format, although the track has a slightly limited lifespan given the subject matter of winter.    

Daniel Coloprisco’s two-song EP of Winter Song also includes the track “A Touch of Feeling”. With this track, it is strictly just Coloprisco and his piano. And much like with the title track, the music on “A Touch of Feeling” finds Daniel Coloprisco creating a song that contains a certain amount of both Jazz and Classical feeling to the music. As a matter of fact, the feeling of the music, mixed with the simplistic and rather slow tempo with which Coloprisco chose to compose and perform the track creates a track that should easily remind the listener of something that would be playing through a music box. While the listener may not be familiar with Coloprisco and/or his music, the familiar feeling of listening to a music box does seem to add a bit of magic to the track.

The two-song EP of Winter Song from Daniel Coloprisco is short but sweet. The EP gives the listener just a taste of what may be coming in the near future. And if what is in store from Coloprisco is a sweet as the two tracks found on the Winter Song EP, it will be worth the wait. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait as long as the next time for new music from the songwriter.  

Click HERE to hear Daniel Coloprisco’s two-song EP of Winter Song

For more information, check out Daniel Coloprisco’s PR Firm, Whiplash Marketing & Whizkid Management. Click HERE to visit their site.

Single Review: Reina Mora “If I Were a Stranger”

It was back in late 2007 that alt-country singer-songwriter Ryan Adams released his album entitled Follow the Lights. On that album, Adams created a song called “If I Were a Stranger,” a track that came rather late in the seven-track release. The tracks contained on that album had a sound that fell directly in the middle of the alt-country genre with “If I Were a Stranger” being equal parts Country and Rock and Roll. Now, more than a decade later, Puerto Rico native Leeane Melendez (here on out to be referred to by her stage name of Reina Mora) has released her version of the track as a follow-up to her last single of “Trouble”. For her version of the track, Reina Mora has stripped the track down to a bare minimum as the track contains the sound of an acoustic guitar, bass and cajon, all played live in the studio. “If I Were a Stranger” features the sound of the acoustic guitar and the cajon helping to form the basis for the track with the addition of the cello as the instrument helps to add texture and some bottom to the body of the song. The track feels as much like the acoustic version of “If I Were a Stranger” from Adams’ one performance on David Letterman he where performed solo as it does like one of Reina Mora’s own tracks, which proves she wanted to stay close to the original material but also wanted to add her touch to the song. The track blends together the two styles of both Reina Mora and Ryan Adams as the song contains both a strong Folk approach and a strong Pop feel to the music. The five-minute playtime on the track shows that Reina Mora and the musicians backing her up on the track simply allowed the track to play out in its own way. Like the single of “Trouble” before it, “If I Were a Stranger” shows off only one side of the talent from Reina Mora. With this and the previous single, the upcoming album release from the singer-songwriter is shaping up to be a rather strong album.    

To hear Reina Mora’s version of the song “If I Were a Stranger,” click HERE.

CD Review: Two Cities, One World “Let the Whole World Disappear”

Sometimes to find true love, one must do a little traveling. And sometimes, it takes going to a location half a world away.

This happened with Anna Yanova, a Bulgarian-born singer-songwriter. When she was attending the Musicians Institute in Hollywood to refine her talents, she met up with Jared Cattoor, a St. Louis-bred guitarist who, in his own way, was also there to refine his talents. Together, they met and fell in love, only to end up getting married.

With Anna Yanova already creating and releasing a solo release, her music caught the ear of Cattoor and the two soon started creating music together. Because of whom they were before they ended up meeting, and since they had a shared interest in music, the duo created one musical project with a very apropos moniker. Together, Cattoor and Yanova are known by the name of Two Cities, One World.

With Jared Cattoor being American and Anna Yanova being Bulgarian, the music of Two Cities, One World incorporates several different styles of music to create a very multi-faceted sound that is truly international. Having already released one EP entitled Together back in 2014, the duo is currently celebrating their new album of original material. The newest release from Two Cities, One World is entitled Let the Whole World Disappear.

Let the Whole World Disappear from Two Cities, One World begins with the track “I See the Sun”. The track features a lyrical content that seems to suggest a very biographical approach as the words reflect the view of two people from different worlds being connected by just looking at the same sun in the sky. The musical approach has a very “pop-like” approach with some pop-rock flavor and plenty of jazz influence. The vocals from Anna Yanova also add to the jazzy feel of the music. The gentle feel of the smooth jazz-like music will be very accessible to a lot of people whose musical tastes vary widely.

The new release from Two Cities, One World continues with the track “Suga Daddy”. Bringing back some of the jazzy influence from the last track, “Suga Daddy” takes that jazz style and blends it with plenty of Funk flavor. While the last track contains an easy feel to the music, this track has a lot more energy. One element that helps to differentiate the first two tracks from each other is the inclusion of the electric guitar in “Suga Daddy”. That guitar playing shows off the talent of Jared Cattoor who adds a Carlos Santana-like feel to the music.

With the inclusion of many styles of music, Two Cities, One World creates music that could easily be categorized as “World Music”. To prove that categorization, the duo of Yanova and Cattoor include a bit of Yanova’s ethnic background in the album. The track “Footprints (Sledi)” contains a somewhat Hispanic approach to the music as well as the use of the Bulgarian language for the lyrics. The combination of the two different nationalities creates a very unique track that contains a very strong danceable feel to the music. “Footprints (Sledi)” could easily be a crossover candidate that would feel right at home in dance clubs in the U.S. and all over the world.

The duo creates one of the strongest moments on the Let the Whole World Disappear album with the track “Love Blues”. Although the track contains a certain amount of Blues influence, the song is as upbeat as anything else that came before. And just like “I See the Sun” that helped kick the release off, “Love Blues” is yet another track that feels like a love letter set to music. With the inclusion of horns on the track, the song is one track with a very wide amount of influences to its music.

As the Let the Whole World Disappear album continues, Yanova and Cattoor and the rest of Two Cities, One World changes the feel of the music from track-to-track. And while the previous tracks contained many different styles, the “title track” “Disappear” takes the music in yet another completely different direction. Keeping with the jazz influence that has weaved its way through most of the beginning of the album, the song “Disappear” combines the jazz with some light R&B to create a track that would feel just as welcome on a Smooth Jazz radio format as it would on a “Hip Hop and R&B” radio format.

Throughout the twelve tracks that make up the Let the Whole World Disappear album from Two Cities, One World, the music changes many times. Just when you get used to one feel or approach to the music, the duo of Anna Yanova and Jared Cattoor switches things up. From one track to the next, the release sounds like an entire radio dial on one release. This is truly an album for anyone and everyone.

For a taste of Two Cities, One World and their music, check out the video for the song “Suga Daddy“.

 

The Mercy Alliance “Some Kind of Beautiful Story”

Washington DC-based band The Mercy Alliance is led by singer-songwriter Joe Rathbone. Putting together a sound of melodic rock and roll, Rathbone is joined by several musicians who helped to bring his sound to life; included in the musicians who helped flesh out the music for The Mercy Alliance is drummers David Lopez and Steve Bowman, bassist Brad Jones, and David Henry on strings. Together, the musicians create an ever-changing style of rock and roll that will satisfy any lover of the genre. The Mercy Alliance just recently released their new album Some Kind of Beautiful Story.

Some Kind of Beautiful Story from The Mercy Alliance begins with the track “Washington”. The song has an easy “pop” like approach to the rock and roll. The resulting sound of the song is very infectious and the lyrics could easily get the listener to sing along with the track. The track features an easy driving feel to the music which goes right along with the lyrics about travelling across Washington.

Once “Washington” comes to an end, the album continues with the song “Angel of Mercy”. Taking much of the same feel from the track “Washington,” “Angel of Mercy” has a sound and feel that has a lot of “pop” feel to the music. With “Angel of Mercy,” a slightly harder musical approach comes out. The “title track” of the album starts off with an easy acoustic sound that will remind some of “Take a Picture” from the band Filter for a few seconds before the track goes in a stronger direction and picks up a lot of energy. The resulting track has sound that is very commercially appealing.

While the first two tracks on Some Kind of Beautiful Story, the new release from The Mercy Alliance, have a modern-day feel to them, the track “All for the Love of You” finds the band taking a different approach to their sound. With a sound that brings the guitar out to the forefront, “All for the Love of You” takes The Mercy Alliance’s sound back into the nineties as the band creates a track that will remind people of bands like Weezer and other bands at that time who were creating music that would be played on Alternative radio formats. The music and the lyrics of “All for the Love of You” will definitely take you back in time.

The three-part harmony in the vocals on the track “Moving in Time” once again takes the music of The Mercy Alliance in a “retro” musical direction. The vocals mixed with the slightly psychedelic keyboard sound takes the music of the band and seemingly transport it back into the sixties. The blend of the different musical elements produces a track that sets it apart from the rest of the album as it clearly seems from another place in time.

Some Kind of Beautiful Story from The Mercy Alliance continues with the track “This is How They Know”. With the strings provided by David Henry, the track is one track that stands alone from the rest of the album. The inclusion of strings on the song takes the band’s music in a musical direction that truly lives up to the band’s musical description of “melodic indie rock”. And the lyrics on the song also add a little emotion to the track. The emotional aspect along with the inclusion of strings helps to create a track that is quite different than the rest of the release.

One of the most rockin’ tracks is the song “Libertine”. The band creates one of the best rock tracks in an era where many musicians are going in a more “pop” music direction. The track of “Libertine” proves that The Mercy Alliance can rock out if given the chance.

The new album of Some Kind of Beautiful Story from The Mercy Alliance changes directions from one song to the next. Because of that, the album features a lot of different sounds throughout the albums 9 tracks. As you listen, the different musical styles blend together to create a very entertaining 38 minutes of musical pleasure. With Some Kind of Beautiful Story singer-songwriter Joe Rathbone and The Mercy Alliance easily creates one of the best albums of the year.

To discover the music of The Mercy Alliance, check out their video to the song “Washington” HERE.

Reviewer: Matheson Kamin
Rating: **** (four stars)

CD Review: DeDe “Love and Fairy Tales”

DeDeWedekind is a singer-songwriter that finds her sound from influences such as Tori Amos, Celine Dion and even Amy Grant. She has a large amount of spirituality within the lyrics of her songs just like Grant while still having enough of a pop-like sound in her music. In fact, since DeDe’s music is both pop-based and spiritual at the same time, she can easily be considered a “crossover” artist. That “crossover” sound can be found on DeDe’s current five-song release called Love and Fairy Tales.

Love and Fairy Tales from DeDe begins with the track “Blame It on the Summertime”. On this track, the beauty in DeDe’s voice helps to bring the emotional words to life. “Blame It on the Summertime” is the definitive “pop” song as the track has a very accessible feel to the music and would easily fit in with other songs that would be found on Adult Contemporary radio stations. While the song contains a rather strong emotional pull to it, the instrumentation is very strong itself and helps to create a track that is beautiful and energetic. The crossover appeal of the track makes it one of the best songs on the new release from DeDe and makes for a very strong start to the release.

The new release from DeDe continues with “The Fairy Tale Song”. The track has the same type of pop-rock feel to it as the previous track. However, while the lyrics of “Blame it on the Summertime” contain a lot of emotion, the lyrics of this track contain a lot more fun to them. The lyrics of the song refer to several of the fairy tales that we have all grown up on. The way the lyrics were written for this track, the listener ends up being able to sing along with the song with little effort. When taken together, the lyrics and the easy feel of the music create a track that is fun to listen to and would be a nice addition to any Adult Contemporary radio format.

On the track “The Plans I Have for You,” the feel of the lyrics take on a much more spiritual feel than the first two tracks of the release.  DeDe seems to channel artists like the aforementioned Amy Grant on this track as she creates a song with the same lyrical feel as many Christian hymns created by the most popular artists in that genre. “The Plans I Have for You” takes the music of DeDe into a more serious direction but it also adds a lot of beauty to the Love and Fairy Tales release as the track contains a much stronger orchestral feel than the previous tracks as the strings featured on the song give the song a lot of body. The song allows the listener to see the writing ability of DeDe and the song proves that she can create a serious track when she wants to.

Just as “The Plans I Have for You” proves that DeDe can create a serious track, the next song from DeDe of “Just Desserts” allows the listener to experience the less serious side of DeDe as she takes Love and Fairy Tales in a more lighthearted direction. Taking the music in a Classic Country vein, “Just Desserts” feels like a track that would have been written over twenty years ago, back in a time when people used to add a bit of humor in the songs they wrote. The wordplay contained within the lyrics of this song about an ex-lover will definitely bring a smile to your lips as you enjoy the scene that plays out during the song.

Love and Fairy Tales from DeDe comes to an end with the track “We’ll Never Part”. As the rest of the release allows the listener to experience the writing ability of DeDe, the track of “We’ll Never Part” is the song that most definitely shows off the vocal ability of the musician. The track feels like something that could have come from a Broadway musical and the way DeDe sings the song, she seems like she would easily find a place alongside the best performers on Broadway.

When you listen to Love and Fairy Tales from DeDe, you get a brief glimpse into many different aspects of the personality of DeDeWedekind. No matter what song you listen to on the release, you will find something that will grab you. The well-rounded release does wonders to bring out the talent of this talented up-and-coming artist.

Reviewer: Matheson Kamin
Rating: ***** (five stars)

Click HERE for the video to “The Fairy Tale Song” by DeDe.

CD Review: Jodelle “Better than Ok”

New Jersey-born Jodelle Boorady has started to make a name for herself as an Indie Rock musician. The singer-songwriter has created music that has a very commercial crossover appeal that will satisfy fans of pop and rock music alike. Along with her own CDs, Jodelle’s music can be found on several compilation releases. Currently, Jodelle is promoting her newest release entitled Better than Ok.

Better than Ok from Jodelle begins with the track “Queen of Crazy”. With this track, the music has been features a large amount of keyboard in it. The main instrument on the track is the piano while Jodelle also adds in a great deal of keyboard-based sounds that help to give the song even more commercial quality to it. The resulting track is a synth-heavy song that could easily find its way onto the radio airwaves on a station that features Top 40 or Adult Contemporary music. With the song “Queen of Crazy,” fans of piano-based music will find a track that will appeal to them in a large way. “Queen of Crazy” is one of those tracks that have a sound that will immediately connect with the listener and have them singing along with the song.

While “Queen of Crazy” has a very heavy piano-based sound, the next track of “Skirt” has a more balanced feel to it as the song features more than the piano that was such a big part of the previous song. On “Skirt,” the song begins with Jodelle playing the ukulele that helps give the song a light feel to it. The song then segues into a slightly heavier track that brings back the piano feel from the first track of the release. The inclusion of the trumpet from Taylor Mandel takes the song in a more orchestrated direction. That direction helps separate the two tracks and gives the release some variety to it.

On the song “Self Portrait,” the music once again has a different feel to it. The track begins with a strong guitar part. That guitar helps set up the song to end up going in a more rock and roll-like direction than the first tracks on the album. The guitar from Nick Pierro on this song is as strong as the piano from Jodelle and the two instruments blend well together to create a track that is one of the strongest moments on the release. “Self Portrait” could easily find its way onto commercial radio where it would fit alongside songs from the likes of Tori Amos, Five for Fighting, even Goo Goo Dolls.

The tempo of the music slows down on the title track of the release. “Better than Ok” once again finds Jodelle creating a song that has a strong piano-based feel to the music of the track. The track is one of the strongest songs on the EP as the music of the song comes complete with a background that features a strong orchestrated feel to it. The easy tempo of the song and the orchestrated background creates a track that, once again, feels as if the song could fit in with other songs on a Top 40 radio format. With the powerful message of getting on with your life and putting the past behind you also makes the track right for crossover possibilities on the radio.

With “The Other Shoe,” the final track of Better than Ok from Jodelle, the song has the same style and feeling as the title track of “Better than Ok”. But “The Other Shoe” is much more based around the piano of Jodelle and the guitar of Nick Pierro as the two instruments come together to create a simple musical background. The electric guitar and piano fill out the sound of the song but still contain a certain amount of simplicity to the music. The simple song brings the release to a close with an easy pace.

The new release from Jodelle of Better than Ok features several songs that are piano-based pop and some that are more rock oriented. The combination of the two styles on the release gives the EP an interesting contrast. Whichever style you like better, the release of Better than Ok from Jodelle leaves you wanting for more.

Review by Matheson Kamin
Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

CD Review: Jody Quine “Seven”

Having spent time with the bands Balligomingo and Sleepthief, Canadian singer-songwriter Jody Quine is stepping out on her own to start to create a voice all her own. While both of the bands she has spent time with have a certain style to their music, Quine is taking some of their sounds and incorporating other styles to create a style that is both electric and acoustic at the same time. The inclusion of these and other styles of music help to give Quine’s music certain uniqueness to it. Quine has taken her combination of acoustic and electric and created a new CD. The CD is called Seven.

Seven from Jody Quine begins with the song “You Are”. The first track from the CD has a simple acoustic feel. The guitar-based song includes both folk and “pop” influences to it that help create a very easy feel to the music. The inclusion of bongos instead of a drumset helps to enforce the folk feel to the song. The light musical approach creates a sound that would easily fit on any Adult Contemporary radio format where Quine would fit alongside musicians like Jewel, Melissa Etheridge, and even fellow Canadian Alanis Morissette.

With the next track of “Tonight,” the style of the music takes a much more produced sound as Rhys Fulber takes the feel of the track and takes it back in time to the eighties to give the track a sound that may remind you of something that may have been created by either Dépêche Mode, The Motels or even Duran Duran. While it does have a certain sound reminiscent of the New Wave bands from the eighties with its electro-pop sound, “Tonight” is still one of the most commercial-sounding tracks on Seven and could easily find an audience on today’s radio airwaves.

“To Be Frank” is one of the most interesting songs on Seven from Jody Quine. The song begins with a very light keyboard sound that plays behind Quine as she sings about her deepest desires. Quine’s vocals on the track are both beautiful and powerful, depending on the part of the song. The beginning of the song reminds you of something from female “pop” songs from the late seventies/early eighties from the likes of The Carpenters or the more laidback songs from Donna Summers. The song slowly builds as it becomes a track that sounds more like Dépêche Mode than The Carpenters. The song ultimately brings to mind Quine’s time with Balligomingo and Sleepthief because of the inclusion of an electro-pop feel to the song that gives the song a nice contrast between the later part of the song and the more laidback feel of the beginning of the track.

While “To Be Frank” has a complex feel to it, the track “I Love You” brings some of the simplicity in Quine’s style back to the release as the song features a much more folk-like sound to it. The acoustic guitar plays a large part in the music and the percussion also takes on a much lighter feel to it. Like the release’s first track of “You Are,” “I Love You” has a relaxed and easy approach to it.

The new release from Jody Quine comes to an end with the track “Come Back Home”. While the song has a definite beauty to it, the lyrics to the track feature a very heartbreaking feel to them as the singer pleads to her lover to return. The song features an acoustic approach as it is piano-based and it is that piano that makes up the majority of the music to the track. The slow pace and emotional feel to the lyrics brings the release to a close on a slightly low-key note.

Seven from Canadian singer-songwriter Jody Quine is a very enjoyable release as the music of the seven-song EP has a lot of variety in it. The changing of the pace in the music on the EP will definitely keep you intrigued. The release also allows Jody Quine to show off her talents as a singer as those seven tracks have Quine stretching from an emotional approach to the lyrics to a more powerful approach. Seven from Jody Quine is a release that definitely fits into any commercial music-lover’s library.

Review by Matheson Kamin
Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Check out Jody Quine’s Bandpage account to hear some of her music.

Click HERE for the video to “Come Back Home” from Jody Quine.

CD Review: Adam Gilbert “A Generation of Forgotten Kings”

Adam Gilbert’s A Generation of Forgotten Kings is one of those rare finds- an alternative pop/rock album created using the piano as the main instrument that all of the songs are based around. The piano helps make the album different from the vast majority of the alternative rock albums out there….and that difference is what makes A Generation of Forgotten Kings so refreshing.

The newest release from Adam Gilbert starts with the title track,“A Generation of Forgotten Kings”. The 10-second a’capella chant that begins the track gives the listener some indication that this release may be just a little different. And when Jonathan Lamb’s electric guitar leads the instruments for the next few seconds, you get the impression of a straight-out alternative release. It isn’t until Gilbert’s piano shows up 40 seconds into the track that you get a real sense of what to expect. In fact, with the addition of Gilbert’s piano, the track feels like an alternative rock song with a large orchestral influence. The rock band, Gilbert’s piano and the return of the chant from the beginning of the track all combine to create a track that captures the listener and refuses to let them go. The decision to make “A Generation of Forgotten Kings” the lead-off track to the album (and consequently, the title track of the release, as well) was a very bold move that pays off in a large way.

“How Do We Respond,” the second track off the release, also begins with a’capella: The first couple of seconds of the track start with just Adam Gilbert’s strong tenor voice and gradually transitions into something that might remind you of a song by Marc Cohn. The pop/rock feel of the song alternates between Gilbert’s piano and the guitar playing of Jonathan Lamb, creating a tune that goes well with the lyrics written by Gilbert about not knowing exactly what to say when things happen.

With the track “On a Hill,” you really get a chance to hear the talent of Adam Gilbert as a piano player: For most of the five minutes of the track, it is just Gilbert on the piano being backed up by bassist Jason Fraticelli and Mark Guiliana on the drums. The three musicians create a track that sounds a lot like something that Billy Joel might have written. When the rest of the musicians come in to fill out the sound of the song, the band once again creates a track that has an orchestral feel, kind of like seeing Gilbert live on stage in concert.

One of the most powerful tracks on the latest release from Adam Gilbert is the song “A Little Emotion”. Along with the strong lyrics from Gilbert on this track, the rest of the musicians help Adam create a song that contains the right amount of feeling to pull at the heart. This track features Nathan Goehen on bass as well as Leena Gilbert on violin. In fact, it is Leena Gilbert’s playing that truly brings the “emotion” in this song.

You can tell that an album is very strong when a song as strong as Adam Gilbert’s “Better” comes late in the album’s playlist. “Better” is a song about looking forward to times that aren’t so hopeless and trying. The music is very upbeat and helps to boost the positive message of the lyrics. And when the song finally builds to the big crescendo, the listener gets to experience some of the best playing from all of the musicians involved with the song. This could easily be the best track on the album.

While Adam Gilbert is the writer/singer/piano player and the main point of interest on his release, his album of A Generation of Forgotten Kings was created in such a way to allow all musicians involved the chance to shine as much as Gilbert himself, and the musicians that helped are a major reason why the album is so strong. Guitarists Jonathan Lamb, Matt Jaworski and Steve Berstein all help shape the music, while bassists Jason Fraticelli and Nathan Goehen along with drummers Mark Guiliana (who also helped produce the album) and Shawn Baltazor give the song their strength to help make the release so solid.

Taking Adam Gilbert’s talent as a piano player, his strong yet charming voice, his talent as a songwriter and the talented musicians who helped create this release, you end up with an album that is strong from the first note until it ends one hour later. A Generation of Forgotten Kings leaves you wanting more, a sure sign of how solid an album can be.