Yup, this is the Firefall guys! Jock Bartley has an interesting philosophy on life, you take it day by day, and you make every day count.
Tribute albums are a much misunderstood musical vehicle. It is not a singer or a band trying to emulate another. Rather it is a tribute to a bands writing accomplishments. Tribute and impersonation are two very different critters. For example, there are a gazillion Elvis impersonators, they look like Elvis, they sound like Elvis, they dress like Elvis, hell I’ll bet some of them even live like Elvis. Tribute bands are a different breed, the aim is not to replicate the original but personalize it, and in some cases enhance the original.
Jock Bartley and Steven Weinmeister have produced, what is in my opinion, is the ultimate tribute to the songwriting of the Beatles, and managed to put their own unique twist on it. Even better, they have done it in an acoustic fashion. While I would not class Jock or Steven as heavy metal, they are usually found playing in a more electrified environment, sound boards, stacks of amps, and huge arrays of speakers. When you strip away those aspects for any musician you can get a real feel for their true musical abilities. Using a very minimalistic acoustic backdrop they tackle some of the worlds best known tunes.
I will be the first to admit, I am not a Beatles fan, while Paul McCartney exudes talent, and his song writing abilities are without doubt a musical legacy, 200 years from now people will still be performing his songs. Most are timeless vignettes that encapsulate a story within the 4 minute time frame. The rest of the gang, Lennon, Harrison, and Starr, I would not entertain in a wood shed!
I asked Jock where the inspiration for doing this CD came from. Apparently he and Steven were just goofing around, jamming some Beatles tunes. friends and fans got to hear a couple of their variations, and the project was born.
What do I like so much about this CD? Oh, thats easy to answer, the quality of the guitar playing is absolutely outstanding. I am not sure where this was recorded, but I am guessing Boulder, Colorado, and someone has an excellent studio. Every note is clear and fresh.
You can order you copy from www.firefox.com
Simon Barrett
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1 user commented in " CD Review: Colorado To Liverpool – A Tribute To The Beatles by Jock Bartley and Steven Weinmeister "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackThe matter of tribute albums may be indeed a much misunderstood musical vehicle, but it has little to do with The Beatles, or Elvis, for that matter.
There are in excess of 40,000 Elvis impersonators out there but, since his advent to the music scene, and as early as in 1954 itself, a full two years before he actually became a part of America’s counsciousness, there has also been numerous tributes to music he interpreted, and made his own.
In fact, from country superstar Bill Monroe, who was so impressed with Presley’s rockabilly take on his own “Blue Moon of Kentucky”, that he covered it, in a rockabilly style, as early as a week after Presley’s record hit the stores, to albums by folk rock’s Phil Ochs, to bluesman Albert King or, as recently as last year, to that of jazzman extraordinaire Cyrus Chesnut, the music of Elvis Presley has been “personalized” by more singers and groups than that of anyone else in particular, since the beginning of the recording industry.
It is very easy to mention the impersonators, but all one need to do, to realize how many times he has been interpreted, seriously, is to take a quick trip, back in time, say, to Rod Stewart’s masterpiece album “Every picture takes a story”, (where Rod enhances Presley’s “That’s all right” to unbelievably levels), or to Bob Dylan’s “Self Portrait”, where he gives both of Presley’s versions of “Blue Moon” and “Let it be me” a new life, or to Bruce Springsteen’s contribution to the Elvis Tribute album “The Gospel of Elvis”, in the shape of the much enhanced “Viva Las Vegas”, or hear his continuous rederings of “Follow that dream”, in many of his live albums.
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