Plastic Palms

Towering Pretzels

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 1, 1997)
• Original Release Date: October 1, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• ASIN: B00000IYJA
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Track Listings

1. Plastic Palms

2. Treasured Illusions

3. Carnival of Years

4. God in a Cup

5. Our House is Burnin'

6. Missin' You

7. Mr. Tequila

8. Vincent

Editorial Reviews

Brian Goslow, Worcester Phoenix, May 22, 1998

[The Towering Pretzels] twist their musical influences ['70s pop, New Orleans party music, and funk-driven blues] into the sound-track for a perfect lazy afternoon. When their vocals melt together, as on "Our House is Burning" from their Plastic Palms CD, they're a delightful listen.

Product Description

The Pretzels' sound starts from roots in rhythm and blues, branching out into acoustic and electric rock with elements of world-beat, folk, country, and funk. Musically and lyrically, this recording captures the qualities and immediacy of live performance and conveys it to listeners with passion, humor, and creativity. The Towering Pretzels music speaks of relationships and other trials of modern life. In doing so, it appeals to listeners of all ages.

Plastic Palms goes beyond normal boundaries of the blues rock genre.. In the mix are soulful rock, New Orleans-style R&B, humorous groovin' funk, a world beat/blues fusion, alterna-acoustic blues, and country-rock with a calypso twist! From the crashing title cut to the poignant bonus track Vincent, the songs blend familiar rock idioms with unique sound effects and tasteful instrumentation. Trombone tracks by Mark Paquin and accordion by Margo Granfors bring a New Orleans street festival feel to "Carnival of Years". Margo's humorous exclamations, a kitchen blender, and coffee-cup percussion by drummer Seth Hoffsommer drop you right into the absurdity of "God-in-a-Cup". Fire sounds and a marching-drum fuel the lyrics in "Our House is Burning". Balanced with pure 6- and 12-string acoustic sounds in "Vincent" and Herbie Robinson's authentic rock organ sounds throughout most of the tracks, the instrumentation, performance, and production stay true to each song's style. Matt Thompson's pyrotechnic lead-guitar in the title cut is a perfect counterpoint to John Moore's passionately expressive lead-guitar styles. Throughout the CD Margo's vocals are delivered with gutsy power and emotion; her flowing guitar rhythms and solos bring vitality and focus. Danny Mo's clean, authoritative bass sets rhythm and tone ranging from straight rock to funk, to blues, and to calypso.

"Great job!" says Tom Garfield, Boston Songwriter's Workshop, "Hot grooves. Nice variety of moods and flavors. Excellent playing, production and engineering."

Seth Hoffsommer's sophisticated jazz-rock drums carry the rhythms effortlessly from one style to another, while her accordion and synth sounds add color and contour throughout.

Compared by enthusiastic fans to the Crash Test Dummies, Sheryl Crow, Robin Lane, and Chumbawumba, the Pretzels' sound combines modern acoustic and electric rock with roots in rhythm and blues. Their music, comments Gil Bliss, Brockton Enterprise, is "powerful and wide-ranging... catchy title cut... Robinson provides tasty keyboard licks... Granfors shines".

"I can play any combination of tracks and know that my listeners won't get bored hearing 3 songs in a row by the same band."Renee Johnson, WHMC.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable eclectic romp, September 6, 1999

By A Customer

Not a bad cut on the disc. I was fortunate enough to catch the band live at a club recently and was very impressed with the overall musicainship of the band - especially the powerfull vocal performance turned in by lead singer Margo Granfors.