All Reviews Of No Work
I like this tune for it's original style and performance.
Solid stomp to it and the vocal work has a lot of attitude. A bit too much effects on the voice but still well sung. The harmonies are nicely understated and support the lead well.
Musicianship is crisp and tight with nice guitar work ably supported by the drums and bass. Keyboards are supportive but don't get a chance to shine on their own.
A nice break from the standard blues performance.
Great job, folks!
It strikes me as thinking man's blues, just trying very hard to go way beyond the minimum blues requirements.
Mostly that works for me. At times I feel this is how Steely Dan jamming with the Doobie Brothers would play the blues. There is all this funk fused into it.
It's pretty good, and yet I feel I can't consider it great. There's a serious air about it that needs loosened up to line up better with its cool funkiness. There are plenty of good lyrics, but they just don't seem to go in a building a story direction, they just drift to the end.
The guitar lead is, for example, impeccably played but not imbued with the blues so much as an impression of it.
the first thing that comes to mind here is cleanliness. a nice tidy production with loads of space in what is essentially a very busy little ditty. (yes, I've been using that word since the onset of time so get over it).
it's blues. but it's not. instrumentally and melodically, it wants to be and it makes its case remarkably well at times but it strays into straight ahead rock enough to wonder - but then again, cus I dig the groove and I especially dig the performances - I forget about wondering about it.
I'm not happy that the drums are back a bit too far into the mix but I'll excuse that cus maybe the producer felt the licks needed to be centerstage and decided that the part was pretty standard and putting the emphasis on the strongest aspects were best. they may have had a point ....
the bass is totally in the pocket tho. love the low groove. what great tude there. it might be the unsung hero of the moment. from good double licks to some great octave work and even a few moments where harmony struck the fancy. great.
classy guitar work ... fully confident but somehow understated. like the players actually just drink a few beers and wouldn't be caught dead with a glass of red wine. but they wear clean jeans - but don't get worried about a few holes showing skin ... at any rate, the guitars are first class and stars.
the piano handles it's own professionally. it's loose and light and follows the same basic easy path that the gits hang around - but it knows when it's short moments and otherwise know that it can be a leader and a follower too.
the singer is a paradox ... he's exactingly sloppy ... he loves his flips and flares and loves to get down and dirty but he ain't afraid to reach up and try to hit some floaty highs too. he makes the effort to make far more out of this than a standard blues melody and it's obvious he knows his strengths and exploits them. he's pitch strong and keeps his tone constant even when looking to move register.
I'm having trouble finding negatives here. maybe the lyrics are trite - dunno cus I'm not really listening to the story much, more the wordflow and heady headlines. which are good.
overall, I think the song wants to be cerebral. it wants to touch my head with it's exacting virtuoso stylings but in the end, it's the guttural heart that shines most. like really great players having a good time telling a musical story ... which kinda defeats the blesy aspect but supports the rock fun side.
I think I'll buy a round of beers for the bar. can I borrow a twenty?
Right from note # 1 a beautiful clarity of production to make you wonder whether you will ever be able to embrace lo-fi again. It’s as if suddenly the absolute pleasure of listening reveals itself as a sixth sense. Someone’s got stuff.
One gasp after awarding first prize to the fantastic piano player, you immediately concede that, no, it’s the guitar who’s the star of the show after all. Then a late entry or two from the other finalists means you’ll just have to cover it with the all-round excellent musicianship option.
The voice is a bit uncomfortable as it takes the verse, tangled as it is into all this busy-busy-ness. And it takes such liberties with timing in its wanderings that you can’t quite let it be your leader. So it’s lucky we start with a chorus.
It’s a groove jazz duel with a twinned guitars whose soloettes are fascinating and a great joy to listen to. That’s how they make guitars talk, that is.
If you’ve a mind to investigate blues scales, here’s a good place to start exploring. It’s loose in its tightness, with occasional bulges.
I’m not acquainted quickly with the words, but soon a common blues-me-up theme begins to emerge; the one about hard work and low pay and general dissatisfaction about one’s lot. But – surely something more – did he really say “I can’t get it up”? How startlingly frank and straightforward. Well, straightdownward really.
Still, enduring the misery of erectile dysfunction has certainly given this guy has a really great, really powerful voice as compensation; gritty as sand with uncommon natural spirit and, come to that, spit that sizzles as it hits the pavement. A little frustration comin’ through here and there, heh.
It’s just after 2:42 that the song really hits top gear, finds its thread and focus. Punctuated with stabbing guitar and lined with bass fusion, it’s surely impossible not to love what goes on.
So admirably setting its sights on technical perfection, it’s totally organic in the guts, where it counts.
Great job on the mix. I heard the different instruments and voices in distinctly different locations around me (listening on headphones).
David Bowie and Tom Waits must have a bastard love child, and here he is. Kinda snazzy and sleazy at the same time. Maybe a little Robert Palmer influence in there? I like!
Tasty lead guitars and piano. Very strong melody and vocal work.
Three plays...
