The band kicks things off with
a fun, funky, jazzy rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” the horns
having a prominent role, at least equal to that of the vocals. Then the song
finds a somewhat mellower place to dwell for a bit, with some nice work on
keys. But soon things get wild again. Yes, this group takes the song in some interesting
and unexpected directions. And listen to Lisa Dodd belting out the lyrics
toward the end. They follow that with an original tune titled “Gottaluvit,” a
funky rock song with more nice work on horns, plus some catchy vocals on the
title line. And check out these lyrics: “Think
you so slick with what you say/The bigger the lie, the bigger the pay/Don’t
matter what’s right, don’t matter what’s wrong/Get enough votes and sing a new
song.” “Gottaluvit” was written by Steve Wiest.
“One Song,” also written by
Steve Wiest, is a strange combination of jazz and progressive rock. We’ve
stepped into some other realm now, and it feels like we’ve left everything else
far behind. Can we even remember the funk? There is something theatrical here,
particularly in the vocals. I’m not as fond of this one as I am of the first
two tracks, but there is certainly something intriguing about it. You want to
find out where it’s going. The electric guitar turns to hard rock toward the
end, and the horns sound like Chicago if that band had something to prove and
was heavily armed. (By the way, Ray Herrmann is also a member of that band.) We
return to funkier ground with a cover of Bonnie Raitt’s “The Road’s My Middle
Name.” Yeah, it’s still bluesy, particularly in Lisa Dodd’s vocal delivery, but
those horns take things in a different direction from the original.
Vinyl Hampdin also delivers a
very strange rendition of “Flowers On The Wall,” the Statler Brothers song. It’s
nearly unrecognizable, except for the lyrics. Gone is the lighthearted sense
of the original version, and in its place is someone who is perhaps a bit
unhinged and a bit on edge. There is an eerie, even frightening, aspect to this
version at moments. It’s different, obviously, but it makes sense, as I always
thought the song was about someone in a mental hospital. That’s followed by an
original tune, “Billions,” a song that urges us to choose love, something that
is incredibly difficult to do these days. “Don’t
fear the dark, open your heart instead/How many people are lost?/There are
billions, billions.”
This band covers Rare Earth’s “I
Just Want To Celebrate,” which seems a perfect choice to follow “Billions,” and
a perfect choice for this band. I love this song, and these guys do a great job
with it, giving it a fiery, positive energy. They then give us an original song
about baseball, “Diamonds.” As you’ll recall, 2016 was a completely foul year.
The only good thing from that year was the Cubs winning the World Series. I’m
not even a Cubs fan (go Red Sox!), but that Game 7 was fantastic. “Diamonds”
refers to the Cubs’ curse in the line, “No
goats, my heart can’t take the strain.” That’s followed by a cover of Paul
McCartney’s “My Love,” never one of my favorite Paul McCartney songs (but still
much better than “Silly Love Songs”) Still, Vinyl Hampdin does a decent job
with it. The album then ends with an interesting and powerful rendition of Bill
Withers’ “Use Me,” featuring more great stuff on horns, as well as some nice
work on guitar. “When you love me, I can’t
get enough/And I want to spread the news/That if it feels this good being
used/You just keep on using me/Until you use me up.”
CD Track List
- Superstition
- Gottaluvit
- One Song
- The Road’s My Middle Name
- Pay For It
- Flowers On The Wall
- Billions
- I Just Want To Celebrate
- Diamonds
- My Love
- Use Me
Red is scheduled to be released on October 5, 2018 on Armored
Records.
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