Dave Stephens “Time Will Tell”
I’ve been a longtime advocate for Dave Stephens past work, this year his newest effort Time Will Tell starts with a rich orchestral effort on the title track that seems tame, but transitions to “Mr. Wonderful” a heavy riff induced burst. This pattern of dramatic Coldplay-like compositions to louder guitar based riff rock is followed throughout the album. Stephens skills as a songwriter are secure with the excellent “Tragedy” and moving ballads like “Peace Of Mind.” The rocking “Josephine” is another highlight, and Dave’s earlier influences (Billy Joel, Elton John) are very subtle this time around. Overall, the album has a lot of songs about soul searching like “More Than Me” and “Dealing With The Past.” Toward the albums end, it gets even more serious with the haunting piano dirge “It’s Not My Dream.” It ends off with the six minute opus “Falling Away” and I am reminded of those melancholy gems from Gordon Lightfoot. A strong solid effort, but I hope Stephens next album can cheer me up a bit more.
MySpace | Dave’s website
Jesse Brewster “Wrecking Ball At The Concert Hall”
San Francisco native Jesse Brewster is a skillful roots rock musician. His sound to me is combination of Tom Petty, John Mayer and Chris Robinson (Black Crowes). The slow bluesy Americana track “All She Deserves” is a brilliant showcase for his strong songwriting ability and soulful vocal. And the Skynrd-like riffs on “God Fearin’ Man” is near perfect country rock with a wicked solo midway towards songs end. Much of the faster tracks, like “I’m Not Broken” have an anthemic quality, full of smart choruses and harmonies. The albums middle seems a bit light, and a some of these tracks are forgettable (“My Great Escape”). A few of these tracks can be found on his self titled EP from 2008. However the ballads are heart wrenchingly performed, my favorite here being “Sorry Ain’t Enough” where it slowly builds to a guitar crescendo between each verse. Having spent much of his career as a sideman, it’s nice to see Jesse get the spotlight here.
