CD Review: A.J. Croce “Just Like Medicine”

A.J. Croce is a singer-songwriter that was born to another singer-songwriter that had his time on Earth cut short due to a plane crash. That singer-songwriter was, of course, Jim Croce. Jim Croce was known for such songs as “Time in a Bottle,” “Roller Derby Queen,” “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” and others. And although Jim Croce died in a plane crash when A.J. Croce was only two, A.J. was largely influenced by his father. In fact, A.J. was so influenced by his father that he started writing his own music. To date, Adrian James “A.J.” Croce has a musical discography that includes ten albums of music. The latest album from the younger Croce is 2017’s Just Like Medicine.

The Just Like Medicine album finds A.J. Croce creating an album that seems to have been influenced by many of the same people that would have been contemporaries to his father, Jim Croce. And while some of his father’s influence does come through, the other influences help to create an album that feels like it would be welcomed by them, the older crowd and the current market of music buyers all at the same time.

While the new album from A.J. Croce features A.J’s songs, it also comes complete with a few songs that had been written by other musicians. The combination of original compositions from Croce and the few cover tunes he chose to include create an album with a straight-out Rock and Roll soul to it; especially given the fact that the tracks borrow from several different musical directions at once. Here are just a few of the highlights to the Just Like Medicine album:

Just Like Medicine begins with one of A.J’s original songs called “Gotta Get Outta My Head”. While Croce has followed in his father’s musical footsteps, he also has gone in his own direction as far as his writing style is concerned. Nowhere is that more apparent than on this first track of the album. The track feels more like a song that Dr. John would have composed. The track’s musical approach combines elements of Rock and Roll with some Funk to create a track with a rather strong groove to it.

A.J. Croce’s latest release continues with a track that was written by Steve Cropper of Booker T & the MG’s fame. Because of Cropper’s musical background and with the various people he played with, the track “The Heart That Makes Me Whole” contains a strong musical feel that would have felt right at home with the tracks that appeared on the albums produced by The Blues Brothers.  A.J’s version of the track brings that Blues Brothers influence to life.

The other track on A.J. Croce’s latest release of Just Like Medicine that isn’t his is the track “Name of the Game”. This song was written by Jim Croce but was never released because Jim passed away before the release it was to be included on went unfinished. Right from the beginning few notes of the track, it is absolutely clear that “Name of the Game” is Jim Croce’s song. The guitar-driven track would have been right at home next to a song such as “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”. In fact, the two tracks feel as if they could have been together on the same album.

For the title track of the release, A.J. Croce creates a track in “Cures Just Like Medicine” that brings to mind a style that seems to have been largely influenced by the like of Harry Connick Jr. “Cures Just Like Medicine” features a Jazzy, Connick-like musical approach. The somewhat raspy voice of A.J. Croce and the musical approach once again brings to mind the sound and feel of Dr. John but with more of a jazzy feel.

Staying in a jazzy state of mind, the next track entitled “Move On” features A.J. Croce continues with the Connick influence but with a stronger stressing of jazz to the music. On this track, what ends up coming across is an “American Songbook” era track that would have come from Rod Stewart. The easy feel to the music and the lyrical delivery that is unmistakably Stewart creates a track that transcends age as the track feels both timeless and retro at the same time.

With the song “The Other Side of Love,” A.J. Croce creates a track with a rather soulful feel to the music. That soulful approach comes from the laidback feel to the pace of the music as well as the quiet feel of the vocal delivery from Croce and the piano that is featured on the track. Together, the various elements in the music create a track that feels as if it belongs on the radio back a few decades. But as there are just as many people who are creating music with a retro feel to it, “The Other Side of Love” fits in with other artists today that also bring the older styles of music alive in their current music.

As the album of Just Like Medicine from A.J. Croce continues, the track “Full Up” finds Croce creating a track that features a piano part and vocal delivery that brings to mind the style of Randy Newman. But there’s more to the track than just that Randy Newman influence which proves that A.J. was influenced by the same people who created music at the same time that his father had been creating music. While the delivery and musical approach bring Newman to mind, the music also contains a little influence by a more contemporary artist- Jack Johnson. Together, the two influences blend to create a track with inter-generational appeal.

On the track “Hold You,” A.J. Croce seems to be channeling the musical approach of Van Morrison. Both the music of the track and Croce’s vocal approach to the track bring to mind the sound and style of Morrison. In fact, “Hold You” has such a strong Morrison feel to the music that it would fit right in with the likes of “The Mystic” or “Crazy Love”. “Hold You” is just another track on the album of Just Like Medicine from A.J. Croce that shows off the various influences that give A.J. Croce’s music its appeal.

As you make your way through the ten tracks that make up the Just Like Medicine album from A.J. Croce, it’s hard to ignore the various influences that wind their way through Croce’s music. But those influences aren’t a bad thing. The various influences that Croce draws upon help give his music depth. As a result, his 2017 album is an album that will satisfy any Rock and Roll lover’s desire for something new.

To hear the music from Just Like Medicine from A.J. Croce, check out the Spotify account for the album. 

Also check out the “title track” to the release, “Cures Just like Medicine“. 

To purchase a copy of Just Like Medicine from A.J. Croce, click HERE. 

Click HERE for A.J. Croce’s version of “Operator” from Jim Croce. 

 

 

 

 

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“.

 

CD Review: Barbara Lusch “Rock Me Sweet”

Over the years, there have been many people who have gone in the direction of reinventing songs from different eras. Artists like Rod Stewart, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra even Pat Boone with his In a Metal Mood release have all created albums that pay tribute to other time periods while bringing that era’s music into the present day. Granted, they have given the songs new life by doing jazz interpretations of those songs, but the music lives again because of those reinterpretations.

Portand, Oregon’s Barbara Lusch is the latest artist to create a Songbook-style release of older tracks. Having already released several albums of music before, Lusch kept to the jazz music of certain time periods and simply recorded new versions of those tunes. This time, she went in the same direction as Stewart, Bennett and Sinatra and created an album of reinterpretations. The music being reinterpreted on the new release is songs from the 1980s. Each and every track on Lusch’s new release of Rock Me Sweet brings back memories of the eighties while taking each track in a much more jazzy direction.

While Barbara Lusch is the main focal point of the release, the Rock Me Sweet album from Barbara Lusch comes to life with the help of Earl Rose who adds the strings to the music on the release. Rose also gives the release its magic through his production quality. Throughout the eleven tracks that make up the album, the music maintains a certain amount of jazzy feel.

Rock Me Sweet by Barbara Lusch begins with the Bruce Springsteen song “Dancing in the Dark”. The piano-based version of the song slows the pace of the song down quite a bit. The slower tempo may not be the greatest for Rock fans but it is great for slow dances. The vocal delivery from Lusch gives the lyrics the sensual feeling that they should have had all along. This new arrangement of the song feels just as natural as the original version from The Boss himself.

The new album from Barbara Lusch continues with the song “Hot Blooded”. Originally recorded by the band Foreigner, the track was one of the heaviest rockin’ songs of the eighties. With Lusch’s version of the song, she takes the track and turns into a great jazz track. The song feels as if it had been written specifically for the Middle of the Road music fans. The soulful delivery to the lyrics by Lusch feels like the vocal equivalent of a wink and a flexing of the finger to entice the listener.

While many of the tracks included on Rock Me Sweet by Barbara Lusch are instantly recognizable, perhaps the most unusual song on the release is the David Bowie song “Cat People”. Having been taken from the soundtrack to the movie of the same name, “Cat People” the track once had a strong New Wave feel. Now the version by features a lot of strings to help create a musical approach that features a lot of classical feeling and the strings on the song give the song a lot of emotion.

One of the most beautiful arrangements on the album belongs to the U2 song “Where the Streets Have No Names”. The unusually slow pace of the music mixed with the strings that add a nice orchestral sound to the track. The arrangement of the music takes the song in a different direction than the original version and still keeps a certain familiarity to the song. The song ends up being easily one of the best tracks on Rock Me Sweet.

Rock Me Sweet by Barbara Lusch is one of the best and most original cover albums to be created in a long time. After listening to the entire album, you will find a new appreciation for jazz arrangements as the song included in this release sound very good having been done in a jazz setting. You will also long to hear the original songs once again…for old time’s sake.

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

CD Review: Barbara Gracewood S/T

Within the music industry are a few artists who are influenced so much by the music of the past that they fall in love with that music. One such musician is singer Barbara Gracewood.

Barbara Gracewood recently got together with a band of musicians who were capable of creating a variety of musical styles so that the resulting music created by the musical ensemble had a very full feel to it. With this band, Gracewood recently created a self-titled album of covers in the style of albums like The Classics by Tony Bennett or The Great American Songbook by Rod Stewart.

The self-titled release from Barbara Gracewood begins with the track “Cold Cold Heart”. Having already been one of Hank Williams’ best loved songs when he released it, the track had one life as a Country and Western classic. When Barbara Gracewood and her band took hold of the song, the track took on a totally different feel as the ensemble created a track that feels more like something that Tony Bennett would sing than something from a Country star. The lyrics to the song still contain a certain amount of sadness to them as Barbara Gracewood gives them the emotional feeling they deserve.

Barbara Gracewood’s self-titled release continues with the song “If”. Originally recorded by the band Bread, the song initially had a very laidback soft rock feel to it. While the song still has a bit of that soft rock approach to it, Gracewood’s arrangement of the song adds some of the energy the original hit version by Bread seemed to lack. The version by Barbara Gracewood even outshines the version of the song that was later released by actor/singer Telly Savalas when he did his spoken word version of the tune. Of the three versions of the song that I am aware of, Barbara Gracewood’s version definitely has the most energy to it.

One of the most unusual arrangements of any of the songs included in the 2014 release from Barbara Gracewood has to belong to her version of the song “Torn”. Originally a hit single by Natalie Imbruglia could easily be categorized as pop/rock, Gracewood and her band make the song their won. The track feels as if it had been created by someone like Bonnie Raitt. The song now has a deeper bluesy feel to it. This version is so strong that if Imbrulia had not had her hit version of the composition that is now such a bit part of pop/rock or Top 40 radio formats, this version could easily have made its own history on those same radio stations. As with people like Jimi Hendrix, Manfred Mann and even Link Wray, Barbara Gracewood adds her name to the long list of musicians who have created a cover version to one of Bob Dylan’s songs. Along with the aforementioned musicians who have done covers of songs like “All Along the Watchtower,” “Quinn the Eskimo (Mighty Quinn),” and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” Gracewood adds her version of “Make You Feel My Love” to that list. And just like the others, Gracewood has put her mark on the song. While the original version of the song had an unmistakable Bob Dylan feel to it, the new arrangement for Gracewood takes the song back in time so that it would feel right at home on soft rock formats of the seventies. With this arrangement, both the band and Gracewood sound very relaxed and comfortable while they create a track that truly brings new life to Dylan’s words.

As on the song “Torn” earlier in the release, the track “Come Away with Me” finds Barbara Gracewood and her band creating their own special take on the song made famous by composer Norah Jones. While “Come Away with Me” by Jones has a very jazzy and laidback feel, the version found on this release again finds the band making the song their own. Instead of a jazzy and soothing pace to the music, the ensemble trades the jazzy feel for some blues and creates a track with a bluesy groove to it. The vocals by Gracewood seem to find a balance somewhere between the original jazzy delivery from Jones and the bluesy delivery of the music by Gracewood’s band. The track stands out as one of the strongest moments on the self-titled from Gracewood.

You can tell who a person’s influences are if that person happens to include several songs fronm that influence on their release. One such influence for Barbara Gracewood must be Rhonda Vincent as Gracewood included several tracks from Vincent on her self-titled release. Songs like “The Lucky One” and “Now That I Found You” are absolutely recognizable as part of the playlist for Rhonda Vincent and The Rage. And while the versions of the songs by Rhonda Vincent and the Rage have that undeniable country twang, the versions by Gracewood and her band fall into a more pop-oriented category. The versions of the two tracks that are included on this release as just as well arranged as any of the other tracks that make up the release.

While the ten tracks that make up the self-titled release from Barbara Gracewood come from many different writers with different writing, they all fir together as each arrangement seems to have been done to create one specific style that helps to bind the ten tracks together into one solid release that still features plenty of variety in the music. And although some of the songs are better known than others, they all show off the talents of the musicians involved and most importantly, help show off the talents of one Barbara Gracewood.

As Barbara Gracewood has no videos for any of the songs from this release up on YouTube, check out her CDBaby profile to preview tracks from the album.