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Ken Macy
What If
(2006 - Ken Macy)
Review Date: Oct 2009
by Robert T. Murphy
Ken Macy spent three years writing songs for his CD. Ken Macy not only wrote the songs and did the vocals, he also played pretty much all the parts, except drums & tenor sax. He lists numerous influences, from the obvious for a blues artist (SRV, Clapton & B.B. King) to some you might not think of influencing a blues guitarist/song writer (Phish, The Darkness, Keith Urban, Johnny A). Listening to the songs, you can hear bits an pieces of these influences sprinkled through the result of his efforts.
Some samples from the CD:
'Heaven On Fire' - This is sort of a pop 12 bar blues, overdriven guitar, with sort of mix of Eagles and blues rock influences.
'Torn and Frayed' - This song reminds me of the Who back in the late 60's.
'I Still Have You' - This is a ballad driven mostly by acoustic guitar.
'Keep On Rockin N Rollin' - As you might guess, this is boogie woogie rock & roll, with a Chuck Berry rhythm which harkens back to early days of rock & roll, modernized a bit with a 70's rock sound. A good bar song for Saturday night.
'John Marshall' - This song reminds me of something that Bob Dylan might have written. It opens up with an acoustic guitar and shortly moves into electric Dylan style. This is the CD's protest song.
'Etch-A-Sketch Kid' - Another rocker, which reminds me of late 70's or early 80's rock or something that Rory Gallagher might have done. The guitars are a bit overdriven and processed, but that adds to the 80's vibe.
'If It All Ends Tomorrow' - This song so reminds me of folk music from the early 60's, except done with electric guitars.
'Lying Eyes' - This song opens up with Tenor Saxophone, taking what would ordinarily be the guitar parts of the song. This song leans towards more modern blues style. I suspect that it would have a lot more kick in a live situation. This is one of the strongest songs on the CD.
'Dreams' - With slide guitar backing, this song leans toward the Country side of things, with a medium slow tempo.
'I'm Gone' - Another medium tempo rocker, which reminds me a bit of the Eagles in style.
Bottom Line: This is a good CD which contains a variety of musical style. The production is generally good. This is more of a song writers CD than one that puts the solo guitar out front and center. It would be interesting to see what other artists might do with these songs. I give it Two out of four stars.
Musicians:
Vocals, Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Slide Guitar, Bass, Tamborine - Ken Macy
Drums - Kevin Haverty
Tenor Sax - Dave Kurdzionak
Producer - Kevin McCluskey & Ken Macy
www.myspace.com\Ken Macy (search for Ken Macy on myspace)
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