Monday, December 29, 2014

Demo that Got The Deal Vol 4 Reviews by Craig Fenton




1. Adam Rivera The Answer 3:05 
2. Kitoto Proud Soul Heritage 3:42 
3. Steve Gilligan Before the Fall 5:03 
4. Tony Rocks Do It For Love 3:54
5. Audioscam Bridgetown Girls 3:18 
6. Joe Viglione Secret Things 3:19 
7. Kenny Selcer It's All Around You 4:39 
8. Joe Black Armageddon 2:51
9. Metal Pistol D.O.A 5:21 
10. JASON Hylas 1:05

THE DEMO THAT GOT THE DEAL 
Joe Vig's Pop Explosion Volume 4

11. Ian Anderson - interview 4:08 12. Alan Merrill I Love Rock & Roll - interview 11:46 13. Alan Merrill - interview 2 6:56 14. Rob Fraboni - interview 3:59 15. Danny Sheridan - interview 7:10 16. Dick Wagner - interview 2:10 17. Steve Holley - interview 2:55 18. Ocean - interview 2:08


AUTHOR CRAIG FENTON GOES
TRACK BY TRACK ON
THE DEMO THAT GOT THE DEAL
VOL 4

Track #1  Adam Rivera  "The Answer"



Adam Rivera- The Answer from the CD Superauspicious (2012)
Labeling an artists sound should be non-compulsory because it often places the creativity in a small tightly wrapped box unable to fully breathe.  Many have called Adam Rivera somebody with expertise in the Speed-Folk genre.



Adam’s twenty year plus track record (many as a solo acoustic performer) earns him the right to be significantly more bounteous.  Without ever compromising his own direction Adam’s tunes are a proper mix of several generations of voices Lou Reed, Garland Jeffreys, Willie Nile, and They Might Be Giants.



To borrow a lyric from The Answer “All Systems Go” is truth in foreshadowing.  From the opening notes you are open to your own interpretation.   The car ride as well as the story of love he pontificates has ups and downs and peaks and valleys.



You may find the words take you in a completely different direction, a quality found in numerous Adam Rivera recordings.  His success has been in making any of us belief we found the undeniable meaning as long as we enjoyed the ride!



The vocals are articulated in such a natural approach you feel Adam is speaking to a handful of people and commends our attention throughout.  There is nothing pretentious.  The track lasts a bit over three minutes and doesn’t need any extension.  As in any well crafted tune you no sooner finish the song and will be hitting the repeat button a multitude of times.   Adam has found “The Answer” and the only question is how soon you will enjoy the question.
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TRACK 2



Cover art of maxi-cd single for Kitoto's performance at the Apollo Theater February 6, 2014
created by Kenny Selcer
Track 2  PROUD SOUL HERITAGE - Kitoto Von Hebb



Kitoto- Proud Soul Heritage (Recorded 2013 and mixed in 2014)
  
In an industry filled with over-inflated egos it is extraordinarily rare that an artist seeks to open doors with their voice and not bloodline.  Kitoto is actually Kitoto Von Hebb, the daughter of Soul legend Bobby Hebb (tragically passed away August 3rd, 2010).  Bobby having written one of the most famous songs of all-time (Sunny) and toured with the Beatles could present incalculable opportunities to Kitoto but her soul (heart and voice) will successfully provide entry into any setting without the nepotism.

Almost 40 years ago (1975) Bobby recorded Proud Soul Heritage.  As a tribute to dad, along with a powerhouse of a message to all of us with a heart it is only fitting that Steve Holley drummer extraordinaire (played and or recorded with Paul McCartney, Elton John, Chuck Berry, and Julian Lennon) is part of the recording.

Kitoto’s version of Proud Soul Heritage is as good of a Soul song released in decades.  Current styles of music Soul, Rock, Country, etc. have nothing in common with the true meaning of those genres, especially the glory days pre-1980.  Kitoto has scholarly knowledge of what Soul was all about and how to share it with any generation.  Her voice resonates notes that turn into silk and the inspired lyrical delivery can bring emotion to the stuffiest of individuals.





Reviews By Craig Fenton
author of Take Me to A Circus Tent
(Jefferson Airplane)  
and Have You Seen The Stars Tonite (Jefferson Starship)



Track #8    

Joe Black- Armageddon CD Single (2013)
 
 
 
Joe Black the bass-player for the paramount heavy rockers Ball ‘N’ Chain enhances his resume with a blowtorch of a single Armageddon.
 
To some Armageddon is phantasmal and to others it is not only is a threat but a soon to be reality.
 
Joe examines the subject without apologies.  The three minutes of sounds are harsh, heavy, and heading for the windpipe.  A conglomeration of Ball ‘N’ Chain, post Ozzy Black Sabbath, a bit of Grand Funk Railroad, and Joe’s take on the subject yields an untarnished souvenir that may turn out to be a lone survivor.
 
If you relish quality metal from any decade Joe Black delivers sharp sonority targeting your skull.

 

Reviews By Craig Fenton
author of Take Me to A Circus Tent
(Jefferson Airplane)  
and Have You Seen The Stars Tonite (Jefferson Starship)
__________________________________________________________________________
the INTERVIEWS


THE DEMO THAT GOT THE DEAL 
Joe Vig's Pop Explosion Volume 4

11. Ian Anderson - interview 4:08 
12. Alan Merrill I Love Rock & Roll - interview 11:46 
13. Alan Merrill - interview 2 6:56 
14. Rob Fraboni - interview 3:59 
15. Danny Sheridan - interview 7:10 
16. Dick Wagner - interview 2:10 
17. Steve Holley - interview 2:55 
18. Ocean - interview 2:08

____________________________________________________________________________

Track #17  Steve Holley interview
The Demo that Got The Deal with Steve Holley / Angel Air Records



JV Let us ask you, what was the Demo that Got The Deal for the Reluctant Dog on Angel Air Records http://www.angelair.co.uk/

Steve Holly: Angel Air Records, yes, it's Peter Purnell
has a company, it's kind of a boutique label in the U.K., in Yorkshire.  It came about because I'm a drummer, a fledgling piano player and a wannabe songwriter, and I've always written songs.

I just decided one day that I would record the ones that wouldn't go away to the best of my ability - in other words the songs that stuck in my head, I figure well, perhaps that they're the best, the cream of my crop, so to speak, not to compare to anybody else. I went ahead and started work on that and played a few of them while we were touring England with Ian Hunter - and Mick Ralphs was in the band at the time, it was called the Taking the Mick tour, I think, I was playing the songs, and he asked "who's singing"...I said it's me,  well, who's playing the instruments

(more interview to follow)
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AllMusic Review by   [-]

Journeyman drummer Steve Holley has provided some of the most solid and creative beats for Paul McCartneyKiki DeeJoe CockerJulian Lennon, and Ian Hunter over the years, and though he recorded a couple of tracks in the U.K. in January of 1980 (included here), those beats never got the opportunity to be heard backing him up until the release of The Reluctant Dog, a 13-track collection of melodies and feelings that are well worth the wait. For those put off by the manufactured pop that Phil Collins runs off the assembly line, The Reluctant Dog will provide much satisfaction. Produced byHolley and bassist/guitarist Keith Lentin, the album is chock-full of surprises -- the short and sweet instrumental "Punta del Este (with daughter Amanda Holley on flute) and a bubbling Genesis-like "Entertain You" to mention just two.  Read more here: http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-reluctant-dog-mw0000593666
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Every week we're sending out more tracks to radio and media
__________________________________________________ Track #18 The Demo that got the Deal for OCEAN
Put Your Hand In The Hand


The Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1iAaKHd7z8

Essay
http://theband.hiof.no/albums/put_your_hand_in_the_hand.html






GOING TRACK BY TRACK WITH CRAIG FENTON
Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship biographer Fenton has given his perspective on a majority of the tracks on the 4th volume of our CD series, 

THE DEMO THAT GOT THE DEAL






Jefferson Starship


Review of Have You Seen the Stars Tonite
http://www.prlog.org/10101319-have-you-seen-the-stars-tonite-or-at-least-the-new-jefferson-starship-book-by-craig-fenton.html
Craig Fenton on Kenny Selcer
http://www.kennyselcer.com/craig-fentons-review.html




Proud Soul Heritage written by Bobby Hebb