The Gabe Dixon Band

The Gabe Dixon Band

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 26, 2008)
• Original Release Date: August 26, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fantasy
• ASIN: B001AKTZQO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,666 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Sara Bareilles
"Gabe's voice is flawless, and it delivers some of the most well-crafted, heart-felt, kick ass songs I've heard in a long time. He and the band are truly gifted, and we're lucky they decided to share those gifts with the world."

Product Description
The Nashville Tennessean proclaims that Gabe Dixon is "a classic pop songwriter who deserves to join the ranks of Jackson Browne and early Elton John in the pop pantheon." Known for their stunning live shows, Dixon along with his bandmates Winston Harrison (bass) and Jano Rix (drums) create a combustible sound that combines pure pop elements with the energy of rock and the sex of soul. Dixon's songs have been highlighted in both major network television shows and feature films.

The Gabe Dixon Band's Fantasy Records release features Dixon originals and songs he co-wrote with no less than three Grammy Award winning writers for "Song of the Year." Dixon is also fast becoming recognized as the young "up & coming" pianist of choice, having shared the stage with artists as varied as Paul McCartney, Alison Krauss, Stevie Wonder, and O.A.R.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine 1970s-inflected piano singer-songwriter pop, August 26, 2008

By	hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Dixon has been compared to singer-songwriters Ben Folds, Billy Joel and Elton John, and though he's likewise a pianist, his songs are more often wistful in the vein of Jackson Brown or Paul Simon. There's a soulful grandeur to his playing and singing, with funky elements as on Elton John's albums from the first-half of the 1970s; he lopes along on the New Orleans-styled second-line rhythm of "Till You're Gone" and takes on gospel-influences for "Find My Way." Dixon's classical training and the group's improvisational background can be heard in the quality of the arrangements and the solidarity of the playing (mostly recorded live-in-the-studio), but having pared themselves to a trio, the songs are now carefully honed to three- and four-minute pop pieces that forsake the overt jazz influences heard on the group's 2002 release, "On a Rolling Ball."

Like the best piano-led bands, the absence of guitar here is hardly noticeable. Dixon's playing has such a rich sound, that backed by bass and drums, its many octaves and sympathetic overtones fill the sonic palette. Dixon's voice lies complementarily on the lower notes of his piano playing, and on mid-tempo numbers such as the imagery-driven "All Will Be Well," his voice rings with the purity of Paul Simon. Though you'd be hard-pressed to label this band as Americana, their Nashville residence (Dixon's hometown, to which he returned after several years in New York) lends these songs an earnestness that winningly supports lyrics of love that's alternately new, sustained, broken and longed for. Dixon's equally convincing singing the first-person story of a return home on "Five More Hours" as he is detailing another's nearly suicidal loss on "And the World Turned."

Though Dixon's vocals provide a line of continuity from the band's earlier works, their new-found focus on concise songwriting and arranging provides a powerful multiplier to their performing. Dixon's voice fits beautifully into the songs, his piano playing is stirring on both the upbeat numbers and ballads, and the rhythm section provides fitting accompaniment rather than demonstrating their chops. The result is lively and engaging on both an intellectual and emotional level and a big step forward for this fine trio. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com]

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, fun-to-listen-to music, September 5, 2008

By	reader "JA" (AL United States) - See all my reviews

I absolutely love this CD! I've been a fan of The Gabe Dixon Band for years and was excited to hear they had another album coming out, but this CD exceeded my expectations. As another reviewer noted, this CD is a little more pop than the band's earlier album--it lacks the long jazz improve-like sections featured on the earlier album, but it definitely avoids the generic radio-edit sound and showcases the band's style. At times soulful, upbeat, playful, and mellow, it's just plain fun to listen to. There's not a single song that I don't like. Highly, highly recommended!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gabe Mellows Out, September 28, 2008

By	Sor_Fingers (Boulder, CO USA) - See all my reviews

It's been a good solid 5 years since the last studio effort from Gabe and company, and a lot has changed since then. Those who have loved "On A Rolling Ball" will notice several changes: No more saxophone, more steinway and less fender rhodes, a gentler singing voice from Gabe and a more mellow sound in general with lighter texture and slower tempos. The result is a nice change. Especially since the songs on this album are so great. The disc features 8 new cuts, 3 squeaky clean studio versions of tracks from the "Live at the World Cafe EP" (Five More Hours, All Will Be Well, and Ever After You) and one closing cut that is an instrumental reprise one of the other tracks. Not a bad song on the album. Fans of the previous studio release will be happy to hear the electric piano on "Further the Sky" which is probably the most powerful cut on the album, and fans of the grooves that dominated On A Rolling Ball will be pleased with the funky "Find My Way" and the New Orleans street beat feel of "Till You're Gone" (where Gabe really lets loose with a killer piano solo). "Sirens" also gets a lot of energy going on it and is akin to "Sitting at the Station" from the previous release. The single, Disappear is very strong, and people will be happy to hear just Gabe and Piano on "And The World Turned." The three cuts from the live EP have retained their integrity on the studio album, but have some nice tasteful overdubs (organ, light guitar, strings, ect.) that keep them from being carbon copies of the live versions. The songs tend to stand alone, and the whole album doesn't have a really strong overarching theme, but all of them are just so GOOD. Powerful, poetic lyrics, rich harmonic vocabulary, clean and tasteful production and really solid song-writing make this new release from the Gabe Dixon Band a wonderful addition to the piano rock genre that Elton John, Billy Joel and Ben Folds have all convinced us to love.