Certain artists and bands
have an interesting way of coming back into my life. In the mid-1990s I was a
radio DJ in Oregon and was turned onto a lot of great music. One album that we
played a lot and which I loved was The Cucumbers’ Where We Sleep Tonight. It came out in 1994, and contains a lot of
great tunes, including one that I put on several mix tapes (yes, tapes), a song called “Flies.”
It’s a song that still works its way into my brain quite often, and sometimes I’ll
find myself singing a few lines of it during my day, usually that line “Trees and other tall things move around, but
not very much,” which has always made me smile. In fact, I was listening to
it recently while I was in Boston, because the car I have access to there has a
tape deck. Somehow after that album I lost track of the band.
But they continued to
release music. And earlier this year singer/guitarist Deena Shoshkes released a solo album, Rock
River, under the name Deena. It’s actually her second solo release, and is quite a bit different
from what I’d heard from The Cucumbers, but just as delightful and interesting.
One thing that really impressed me about that band was the vocals. And here
Deena’s vocals continue to stand out and totally work for me. She has a voice
that’s perfect for pop, and also perfect for country, and for folk, and on this
album she mixes those musical genres to wonderful effect. All of the songs here
are originals, written or co-written by Deena. And her husband and fellow
Cucumbers member Jon Fried plays guitar and provides backing vocals on a few
tracks, which is great.
Rock River opens with one of my favorite tracks, “My Own Advice.” It
has a fun groove, and shows how great pop music can be when in the right hands.
And it features a chorus that has elements of country: “If I could take my own advice/I might be sitting on sugar spice/Do it
once and don’t think twice, oh yeah.” I totally dig the instrumental
section, with nice work on keys and guitar. Jon Fried provides backing vocals
on this track.
I love what Deena does
vocally on “Find The Love.” She starts off sounding just adorable, singing
about the love letters she has: “I've got
the sweetest love letters from you/I believe every word you wrote me is true/Sometimes
I take them out and read them to myself at night/When I'm feeling cold and I'm
feeling I could use some light.” But she finds variations and changes,
which keep this catchy tune interesting. For example, listen to the way she
delivers these lines: “Tuesday's on and
Monday's gone, long gone/Thursday's coming round, you know it won't be long.”
“Bring It All” is a
sweet, somewhat mellow tune with country and folk elements. It features Rob
Friedman on pedal steel and mandolin. I love the honesty and delight in Deena’s
voice as she tells us, “Oh, I’m so ready
for this.” “Bring It All” was co-written by Deena and David Graham. Jon
Fried plays guitar and provides backing vocals on this track.
“Comes With Kisses” is so
sweet, so pretty, with some wonderful lyrics. This early line caught me the
first time I listened to it: “I just
found out my heart/Thinks we’re in love.” How great is that? There is an innocence
and youth to her voice, and so a vulnerability and also a hope, an optimism.
This song then takes on another dimension as the bass and drums come in
approximately halfway through. “Comes With Kisses” was co-written by Deena and David
Graham.
Deena follows it with a
fun pop song, “All She Wrote,” which has something of an early rock and roll
vibe. There are great, brief a cappella moments as she ends certain stanzas.
And how adorable she sounds
on “Come and let me show you what I’m
going to do,” a line delivered with a quiet and kind of sexy confidence.
This is a song to get you on your feet, and it features Rebecca Turner and
Elena Skye on backing vocals.
“My Friend Superman” is a
somewhat silly song about Superman’s domestic life, and features a horn section.
It was co-written by Deena and Chris Dickson. Jon Fried plays guitar and
provides backing vocals.
“We’ll Take It From There”
is a sweet, simple love song, with innocent and straightforward lyrics: “We could go to a restaurant/Or just sit and
talk in a parking lot/I’d be happy anywhere/When you get here, we’ll take it
from there/Where you are is where I want to be/‘Cause you are who I want to see/Anything
we do will be fine with me if I’m with you.” She totally sells it. This
track was co-written by Deena and Vaughan Daniel.
“Heart Full Of Now” is another
favorite of mine. It has such a happy sound, the guitar reminding me at first a
bit of Clan Dyken, those joyous sounds. This song lifts me up and sweeps aside
any concerns and disappointments. It is unabashed pop of the absolute best
kind. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “You’ve
got me where you want me and there’s nothing I can do/Some invisible something
is pulling me to you/It seems I’m going willingly, it seems there’s nothing
stopping me/It seems there’s nothing stopping me/I felt you kissing me/What a
sweet surprise coming over me/Because I didn’t ask, you see/And I’m all full of
love.” It was co-written by Deena and David Graham.
I’m so happy that this
talented singer/songwriter is back in my musical world, and I’m looking forward
to hearing more from her. And now I need to go back and catch up on everything
I’ve missed from her (and from The Cucumbers) in the past couple of decades.
CD Track List
- My Own Advice
- Find The Love
- Bring It All
- Comes With Kisses
- All She Wrote
- I Will Never Be Your Valentine
- My Friend Superman
- We’ll Take It From There
- Always Tomorrow
- Heart Full Of Now
- Mr. Nobody
- When I Fall
Rock River was released on March 4, 2014 on Life Force Records.
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