Categories : Miscellany, Music Reviews.
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Rating: 2/5 Released: Reviewer: Trent McMartin |
Part lounge, part blues, part adult contemporary; So Blue, the debut album from California songwriting duo Sandy Leon and James Vest harks back to a bygone era of the sixties and seventies when artists like The Captain and Tennille, Burt Bacharach and the Carpenters ruled the charts. Thank God those days are over.
So Blue is a misleading record to say the least. Singer-songwriter Sandy Leon’s lyrics don’t match the laid back music there being sung to. Much of the lyrical themes revolve around the human condition and the universal suffering occurring around the globe. Track three ‘If Wishes Were Horses†is a socio-political look at the harmful effects of ‘globalization. The song was born out of West’s experience when she travelled to Chiapas, Mexico and saw the treatment being directed towards indigenous peoples of the area.
Heavy stuff indeed, but Leon isn’t all cynicism and politics. She does her best Patsy Cline impression on the old school country title track, which is the best track on the album, mainly because it diverts away from the formula that dominates most of the record. And it’s this formula that suffocates this album never really allowing it to break free from its kitschy grasp. Guitarist Garth Webber, who has worked with Greg Allman, John Lee Hooker and Miles Davis does add a little bite with his Jeff Healey-like blues riffs but it’s not enough to save this record from its inevitable fate of becoming a bargain bin item.
Buy So Blue from iTunes >> 
