Customer Reviews

Beyond the Source

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

1. Who Knows What's Goin' On?
2. Love to Spare
3. Twist City
4. Shim Sham Shimmy
5. Lovin' Daddy Blues
6. If It Is
7. Shakin' Hands with the Blues
8. High Flyin' Baby
9. In a Wrong World
10. Easy Baby
11. Reece's Boogie
12. This ime, This Time
13. Ghosting
14. Miss Bee-Havin'

I think Rod is tied with Kim Wilson for best blues harpist around. I really love both of them, but Kim seems to put out better albums, while Rod puts on better shows. This album seems like it was just thrown together. I love Rod's playing, and I own all his albums, but it doesn't seem like he ever really digs in on this one. Rick's instrumental is a killer though, and I must concede that I didn't like any of Rods past 3 albums at first. They all took about 6 months for me to warm up to them, so maybe in a while I'll think differently of this one. Rod sings through his harp mic on many cuts, and it's a little weird. Not sure if he's trying to cover up his voice or what. Anyways, the album is OK.

Rod Piazza's performances are legendary and fortunately, he does not try to replicate his on-stage electricity on his recordings--such attempts would be doomed from the start. When you tune into this CD, listen for the ensemble richness you expect from this band, but don't ignore the musicality of Piazza's harmonica playing. Piazza'a recent recordings are not, "blow the house down" party records (for that, hear him live: no one does it better), but excursions into different territory. I see him as entering a place in his life where he has achieved mastery over the harmonica and is trying to play in-studio...well, with a quieter beauty and subtlety than a bar gig would allow for. This is not to say these recent recordings wouldn't be good music for a party, simply that they're different than the live gig. There's still a lot of beer in Piazza's music, but more and more his records display the cabernet. Very few harmonica players are doing this.
"Beyond The Source" is one of the best recordings Piazza has made. It's eclectic, features some daring departures, and continues the above mentioned forays into virtuoso playing. It's also the loosest the band has sounded in many a recording, and Piazza's vocals are stronger than in previous recordings. If you want the harp to blow you out of your seat, see Rod live or pick up a William Clarke CD. This recording is further evidence that Rod Piazza, like Little Walter, Larry Adler and others has his his own deeply felt voice and the confidence to make extraordinary music.