Gary Glauber
Reviews:
August,
2005

Scroll down for the latest from The Churchills, Loggins & Messina, Jim Boggia, Brandon Schott and Bob Sharkey Quartet

The Churchills
The Odds of Winning

(Near Records)

Release Date: June 14, 2005

www.thechurchills.net

Depression affects some 13 to 14 million people in any given calendar year, and the statistics on teen depression indicate that one in five probably suffers from some sort of mental or emotional problem. Therefore, it's no surprise that this latest musical collection from The Churchills targets the depressed, or at least anyone who may have experienced or can sympathize with such dark feelings. The majority of the songs on The Odds Of Winning manage to present desperation filtered through the power of crunching guitars, strong melodies, arrestingly smooth vocal harmonies, subtle hooks and eclectic chord and rhythm changes.

Founding members and songwriters Ron Haney (guitars, keys, vocals) and Bart Schoudel (bass, vocals) are joined by two new members in what is now their strongest lineup yet. Scott Haskitt, a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter (who first toured Europe as a guitarist for The Churchills) who also fronts "The Lightbox Exhibit," has joined up as drummer and glockenspieler. The quartet is completed with Jed Higgerson, the man who plays guitars in the band Dibs, plays drums in Andrew Holtz's band, and plays bass in the band Hello Lovely. Higgerson just plays guitars for The Churchills.

Having four multi-talented musicians doesn't always guarantee success, but in this case, the chemistry works. The tight sound is superbly clean and well-engineered (by Bart and Ron), with tracks mixed by Chris Athens (The Neptunes, Beastie Boys, Simon & Garfunkel) and Godfrey Diamond (Lou Reed, David Bowie). The end result bristles with power, a relative tour-de-force of sonic expression that begs for a wide summer audience.

Since songs from their second album, 2000's You Are Here received a spin on television's Spin City, the band has received good media exposure with songs featured on television shows like E.R, Scrubs and Everwood and in films like Comedy Central's Porn and Chicken and Mira Sorvino's Too Tired To Die. The good news is that tracks from this new album already have been licensed to Third Watch, E.R., Summerland and Scrubs.

It's easy to hear why. Haney and Schoudel work in emotional terrain that appeals to the universal, and their smooth vocals alongside slick guitars still retain the infectious allure of power pop translated through a broader college-rock palette. Yet unfortunately they remain something of an obscurity, lesser known than many "emo" bands that cover similar ground (Jimmie Eat World, Deathcab For Cutie, just to name a few). Perhaps it's just a matter of time.

The new CD opens with "Not So Goodbye," a catchy mid-tempo ditty of regret and farewells from someone convinced he could have been someone, done something more with his life: "And I want to see but you're too far / and I can't forget 'cause we were too close / and I want you back 'cause life is too short / but I won't let go." Among the subtle hooks here are synth accents and select harmonies

"Sometimes Your Best Isn't Good Enough" is one of several songs here that dissect less-than-perfect relationships. Powerful guitars drive the song forward, as the singer relates how he wants his life back, stuck in a relationship that leaves him unsure of what he wants or if he can manage to do anything about it. It's a great catchy anthem of teenage and twenty-something angst, and should prove popular with many who can sympathize with the plight.

In a rare show of lighter lyrical fare, The Churchills confess "I'm A Sucker For A Girl In Uniform." Drawn to police women, military women and others (that look like Ashley Banfield), the song is a pleasant endorsement of the camouflage jeans set, betting that "underneath the armor, girls just want to have fun."

One of my personal favorites here is the title track. It's an intricately structured song that deals with a mess of emotions that build and collapse into a sweet, infectious harmony-filled chorus. Here's a guy who was a mess. He turned and ran from a wonderful woman, and has finally figured her out too late, after the fact, "too late to matter." It's a small tragedy, brought home by the coda's "What did I do?", but one with which most can identify, I'm sure.

"Do You Want Me To Go Away?" builds slowly, as one ponders a dreadful relationship as murder ("I am right where you left me to die / in a care that drove off the Brooklyn Bridge"), en route to asking his partner the dreaded question of the song's title.

Pleasantly halting in its rhythms, "It Only Hurts When I Breathe" does a great job of describing total near-suicidal despair. Awaiting death in time that "crawls like honey," our desperate one proclaims: "It only hurts when I breathe / I only breathe when I cry / I only cry when I realize I'm stuck here." This track is powerfully affecting.

"Tailspin" updates elements of Zeppelin's "Kashmir" into another bad relationship's bold dissection. Beautiful, smooth lyrics travel atop the spare yet powerful chords, a man looking at a partner about to lose it all and unable to help her, realizing she can't depend on him any longer, that they're in a tailspin and crumbling fast, that he doesn't feel she's worth the trouble any longer. This is another very powerful track, affecting in its stark simplicity and honest confessions.

The Churchills go mostly instrumental in "Spun," a brief melodic coda to "Tailspin" that features a synthesizer melody surrounded by strong bass lines that seem to threaten and warn of impending danger.

The dilemma behind "Unpopular" is being tied to a person who is tired of you. Such a situation doesn't do much for the self-esteem, yet this person rails against the injustice and the constant boredom of the monogamy, seeking a solution to what is cited as this: "From where I am to where you are just seems impossibly too far / you make me feel the space near me must be unpopular."

One of the more musically upbeat offerings here is "They're Never Going To Find Me." While it sounds cheery (and encourages one to sing along), in actuality this is about a man running as fast as he can to stay one step ahead of his own fears in what most likely will prove a lost race in the long run. Still, it's mighty catchy.

"Waiting For Someone To Save Us" is one of the lesser lyrical efforts here, a guy in the subway station contemplating life and time wasted, a generation awaiting redemption from outside sources. Still, the song is pleasant enough, guitars crunching powerfully to drive home the point (it's just not up to the level of others in this collection).

Even the seemingly optimistic songs here turn out to be something else. The happy title of "We're All Light And Stars" is a tad misleading - it's really a song about disillusion, discovering things are not quite so rose-colored as the glasses might indicate: "I feel like love is what the movies show to me / and Meg Ryan's hard to believe / and I can't keep chasing after every dream." This slower ballad features some lovely musical fills and pretty harmonies, building up to the title's wistful a capella refrain.

The CD closes with a short reprise of "Not So Goodbye," bring the recording full circle, tying the end to the beginning.

The Churchills manage to express their many talents well in the dozen or so songs that comprise this new collection, with a sound that's more "emo" rock and a little less traditional pop. Still, the songs are relentlessly catchy, the guitars are loud, the vocals are smooth, and the subject matter is dark, but compelling. Perhaps the media exposure will lead to a greater popularity - it certainly is much deserved. Judging by the splendid music and its ultra-clean production values, I'd say The Odds Of Winning are most favorable indeed.

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Loggins & Messina
The Best of Loggins & Messina: Sittin' In Again

(Columbia/Legacy Records)

Release Date: May 24, 2005

www.logginsandmessina.net

The 1970s proved to be a busy decade for music. Before (and after) disco reared its head in mid-decade, there were a number of soft rock acts that did rather well. Crosby Stills and Nash spilled over into the 1970s, James Taylor and Jackson Browne owned that decade, and bands like Bread and Seals & Crofts thrived, just to name a few. Loggins & Messina formed one of the most successful duos of that era.

In 1970, following successful stints in Buffalo Springfield and Poco, Jim Messina signed a deal to produce six albums for Columbia. The first project was to introduce Kenny Loggins, a talented singer/songwriter who had written songs for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. During the course of assembling the album, Messina found himself contributing far more than mere production duties. The album ultimately became something of a collaborative effort, and thus the cover of the January 1972 release read "Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina, Sittin' In."

That debut was a fresh mix of country, folk, rock and Caribbean music, an inspired high point that did so well it launched a five-year musical partnership that would produce four additional original studio albums, one album of covers, two live albums and a greatest hits compilation. Of course, the two men were surrounded by many other fine musicians, including Jon Clarke, Al Garth, Larry Sims, Vince Charles, Merle Bergante, Michael Omartian, and Milt Holland.

While Loggins & Messina knew a bounty of commercial success in those years, their pairing always seemed a slightly uneasy partnership that was fostered by public demand. Messina was the proven veteran; Loggins the brash creative upstart. In the course of selling sixteen million albums, their individual business managers and lawyers began to pit one man against the other. At first, Messina had been the mentor, helping Loggins assemble a band, find a manager and an agent. Loggins felt he had to move out from under Messina's protective wing, eager to prove himself capable as a solo artist.

Just as 1976's Best of Friends hits compilation came out, Loggins and Messina agreed to go their own separate ways, far from being the best of friends. Since that time, the two men haven't really been in touch.

Loggins has had the greater commercial success since the breakup, known best for his work in providing songs for films (Caddyshack, Top Gun and Footloose). They stayed apart until 2004, when the two reunited for a charity benefit performance in Santa Barbara, California. That performance reminded both men of the chemistry they'd once shared.

"Something magic happens when the two of us sing together," Loggins noted. At the time, he was in the midst of a painful divorce, and Messina, who'd been through a similar experience, offered his sympathy, friendship and support. It was the start of something new and different - a literal harmonic convergence.

Today Messina feels no need to be in charge. Further, he acknowledges that, with all of his solo success, Loggins now seems the successful mentor figure. In a sense, thirty years have done a lot to smooth out the rough edges - the competition is gone and the new friendship is real. Now the two men can relax and concentrate on enjoying playing their music together.

Rather than release a reunion album of new material (still under possible consideration), Loggins and Messina decided instead to tour and release a revisit to their earlier music, performed this time with a spirit of fun that had been missing the first time around. From what I've heard, the live performances have been wonderful - but what about this newly repackaged greatest hits compilation?

The Best of Loggins & Messina: Sittin In' Again contains all previously released material, 18 choice remastered tracks that run close to 78 minutes total. Allegedly, this collection was to be "about more than the hits," rather, it would more accurately depict who Loggins & Messina were, musically. Yet while it contains a healthy dose of fine music, many will be upset by what's not included (including some of those big crowd-pleasing hits of yore).

Conspicuously absent from this collection are "Peace of Mind," "My Music" and "Thinking of You" (all hits, and all included on Best of Friends). Further, this collection doesn't include their charting hit "Growin'," nor does it feature much from the latter part of their career. Instead, this grouping concentrates largely on the early and successful first two studio albums.

While some of this music and the arrangements seem to wear a tattoo that reads "1970s," there's still ample evidence to explain the duo's rampant success. Loggins' monster folk-rock hits "House At Pooh Corner" and "Danny's Song" (staples on classic rock and soft rock radio) remain steadfast even after all the airplay, and songs like "Watching The River Run," "Be Free," "Changes," "Your Mama Don't Dance," and "Vahevala" retain a melodic harmony-filled charm.

Songs like "Same Old Wine" and the extended full-length album version of "Angry Eyes" reflect the kind of early Traffic-like extended jams that Loggins & Messina (and their fine supporting musicians) were capable of. Also included here are a few country-flavored Messina compositions, including the affable "Listen To A Country Song," Messina's counterpoint to Richie Furay's Poco composition "Pickin' Up The Pieces."

While some may quibble over the absent hits, The Best of Loggins & Messina: Sittin' In Again is a fine collection of what strengths made for this duo's big success way back when. Some of these songs are like old friends now, their familiar melodies and tight harmonies a welcome nostalgic reprise back to simpler, happy times of tuneful soft rock. While it might be interesting to hear what new music might emerge from this reunited pairing, this collection should serve as apt historic record of what a sweet yet brief career spawned some thirty years hence.

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Jim Boggia
Safe In Sound

(Bluhammock Music)

Release Date: May 3, 2005

www.jimboggia.com

Here are four quick reasons why Jim Boggia deserves to be on your musical radar screen: 1) He's got a great voice - raspy and expressive and well-suited for a number of styles, similar to Mike Viola's that way, 2) He's got a firm grasp of pop vernacular - Boggia obviously has spent a lifetime listening to lots of music and absorbing plenty of it - there are subtle reference points in the music, as well as in the liner notes, 3) He's smart - I know, not usually a pop requisite, but always a nice bonus - Boggia often goes outside himself to explore larger issues in his lyrics and displays an admirable vocabulary while doing so, 4) He's good - these are songs that grow on you the more you listen, true singer/songwriter quality pop product - sure it's not perfect, but Boggia displays a lot of growth and maturity in this latest collection, entitled Safe In Sound.

Through Michael Penn and Aimee Mann, Boggia made acquaintance with Julian Coryell and Joe Zook, who produced this new album. While Boggia adeptly handles guitar and a number of other instruments here, he also surrounds himself with several impressive musicians, including Julian Coryell on a variety of instruments, Butch (from Eels) on drums, Mike Frank on various and sundry keyboards, and Justin Meldal-Johnson (Beck) on bass.

The CD kicks off with "Shine," a song co-written with Aimee Mann that serves as balladic ode and lament to those of us stuck in the compromised prison that is the workweek: "Drive / Watch the streets become alive / filled with all the souls who, just like you, are heading to their job / The part of every day that's robbed / Filled with all the things we have to do." The song offers optimism, proclaiming that "like the day, you're going to shine."

Boggia is an optimist, something very much in evidence in his more upbeat "Live the Proof" (co-written with producer Julian Coryell). Here Boggia preaches a sermon of self-actualization, wherein we create our circumstance, beginning the world anew with thoughts and dreams set free into a world where problems are rectified through choices applied. It's a refreshing message of hope, conveyed in concise and clever words: "Let's begin with a fact / Science tells us there's a pact made between each action / and something that reacts / Things that seem out of range all obey a law of change / Put thoughts into motion / watch things rearrange."

Personally, I like Boggia best as quiet balladeer, using that compelling voice to draw you into some more intimate song's confession. One such example would be "Final Word," an astute and lovely musical summation of a multi-year relationship gone bad. Jim McGorman adds some nice keyboard touches here, as does Mike Frank on the Hammond organ.

Another such example of confessional ballad would be "Show My Face Around," the song from which the album's title is derived. The confession here is that Boggia is something of a social recluse, having grown up in an isolated environment. At birth, he was declared legally blind in his left eye and over the years his right eye's strength has diminished. Perhaps this explains his heightened sense of hearing - and his finding refuge in the world of music from an early age. The song explains his public discomfiture - and his preference to "just crawl back in my world of sound," finding safe haven there. There's a whole middle bridge of family recordings spliced into the song that fades into a reprise - and while this is fascinating, perhaps it could have been edited just a bit (the total song clocks in at over five minutes).

Boggia displays this same fondness for fadeouts and reprises on "Where's The Party?"

Again, his raspy vocals are the centerpiece of a wonderful musical depiction of a star whose party life is somewhat out of control: "A lot of us would rather play at rock star than to work to be one / A lot of talent wasted getting wasted, then just wasting time." Guests on this track are Aimee Mann on background vocals, Roger Cox on drums and Scott Bricklin on bass and slide guitar.

Jim B. once again is the sweet optimist on the sweet folk-ballad "Once," crooning in a soft effective way the merits of a "love of perfect reciprocity," yet never sounding maudlin or overly treacle-y (and check out the "Galveston" type Glen Campbell lead).

However, for those stuck in places of dark desperation, Boggia gives you equal time with "Slowly," a song that explores feelings of hurt and loneliness for over six minutes.

Boggia isn't afraid to speak his mind politically either. In what he terms a ditty for the Red States, he tells the musical tale of 1960s radical Bernadine Dohrn and the Weathermen in the bouncing rock of "Underground." This offshoot of the SDS bombed empty government buildings in protest of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, as well as targeted assassinations of counter-culture leaders.

Not only does Boggia narrate the history of those revolutionary times, he also sets out a call to modern youth of the new millennium: "No more freaks / the revolution died / now the streets / they await another try / Who will be the next generation bound for the underground?" It's a great track that features guests Pete Thomas on drums and Wayne Kramer (MC5) on lead guitar. For me, it also was a testament to the synchronicity of things - I had just been reading a book that mentioned Bernadine Dorhn.

There's no mistaking the Elvis Costello influence in "Made Me So Happy." After all, it was Costello who urged us all to "get happy" way back when and Boggia does a nice job of capturing the artistic crisis of possibly feeling too good to wax philosophic about one's problems, anger and rage. Julian Coryell adds some lovely and jangly guitar here, while Boggia's good friend Jill Sobule (he often accompanies her when she plays live) contributes perfect backing vocals. This would be my choice for single.

Speaking of philosophic, in "Talk About The Weather" Boggia points up the fact that our lives are too often filled with regret and wasted time, daily interactions that ride on the surface of superficiality. This song was inspired by a screenplay by Scott Lazar about a group of twenty-somethings coming to this epiphany.

"Let Me Believe" (Evan's Lament) is a charming tale of one man's strategy of pretending he is someone else, that the girl is his and that the moment of their dance together will continue evermore ("when in Rome you need romance"). It was co-written with Pete Donnelly of The Figgs and Emitt Rhodes, who contributes background vocals.

"Supergirl" is another soft ballad that features Boggia's emotive vocals to great effect. Here he is offering his thanks in a song to a woman who has saved, lifted and inspired him, and is off now to save the world.

The album closes with a seven minute "hidden" track that features a thunderstorm in Manayunk (as if I haven't heard enough thunderstorms this summer) and a little jazz ditty entitled "Shane" (at 6:07 in) in which Boggia does his best Satchmo.

With nearly an hour's worth of music, Safe In Sound gives you a lot of new Boggia material, which should come as a balm to fans who have been waiting years for this sophomore release. It's a lot of music to take in, though, and for full appreciation, requires many listens to let the more subtle aspects reveal themselves.

Jim Boggia is a precise and clever wordsmith, and one who can assemble well-crafted layers of pop rock that ranges from quieting soft ballads to bouncy upbeat full-band numbers. He has a gift for melody and songwriting and, like Mike Viola, is graced with a voice that expresses every nuance and emotion. His engaging talents are well-showcased in this latest collection, as enumerated above. Safe In Sound delivers on the promise of Boggia's first album, and builds on that with a more mature musical approach. Let's hope it's not quite as long before we get the next installment.

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Brandon Schott
Release

Release Date: November 18, 2003

(Fluffy Pillow Music)

www.notlame.com

It's not easy to get attention in a world crowded with talented musicians. So while some like Devendra Banhart and Sufjan Stevens combine talent with luck and manage to accrue columns upon columns of media coverage, others like Brandon Schott go relatively unnoticed.

After graduating Berklee College of Music in 1999 with a degree in songwriting, Brandon Schott headed out to Los Angeles to continue a lifelong obsession with music. He started playing local coffeehouses, assembling a trio along with Greg Jamrok on guitar and Dave Stalker on drums. Soon enough, they were fleshing out arrangements for what would become his first album, Release.

While this album debuted in November, 2003, more recently it has been picked up for wider distribution in the summer of 2005 (and deservedly so). The multi-talented Schott (he is credited with some 20 different instruments on the CD) covers a wide realm of pleasant soft-rock territory (with some folk, some funk and other things thrown in for good measure).

He's got a strong emotive voice that can sound like any number of people (a short list might include Owsley, Ben Folds, Michael Penn, Joe Pernice and Matthew Sweet), depending on the particular song. It's full of warmth and familiarity and adds those things to these original songs.

"Sunday A.M." opens the CD, a soft acoustic number that reflects the lyrical wishes for a world where every day retains the gentle peace of Sunday morning. Schott's dulcet voice carries the track, which features some virtuoso dobro work from David Kalish.

A slightly more upbeat ballad, "Afterglow" is an infectious musical testament to the reaches of feminine power, extending so far as to let the playboy know "it's far too late for an easy escape." In the end, the results are always the same: "no matter where you are / she holds all the cards."

Schott gets the funk out in "Little Juliet," using a moog bass and clavinet to underscore the full-fledged strings and wah guitar and background singers. It's a tight little number, showing Schott's versatility and giving advice to that poor girl who has lost her Romeo: "Little Juliet / look how much you've lost / since your stars got crossed / you are putting out / what you never put in / the poison crawls under your skin."

"One Man's Poison" points out that we often follow the wrong advice, falling in line or admiring the actions of the wrong friends, etc. Banjo and mandolin are some of the unusual accents that dress up "May," a mood piece and love ballad that unfurls at a slow pace (and lasts just under six minutes).

Schott goes a little jazzier with "Paper Wings," employing a nice background chorus of singers and the occasional slide whistle to get across this delicate tale of a woman remembered through her origami letter: "her memory is folded / her edges are soft / and when she finds you / you're an astronaut / every night you're really taking flight."

"Burning The Days" is Schott at his most rocking. It's a song that builds to where Schott screams out his love and devotion ("I will burn for you as the night goes down") in sometimes poetic ways ("I live inside your secret kiss / here in this power time does not exist").

Lovely strings add poignancy to the "man left in ruins" aspect of "Let Me Sleep." He's awake and thinking back on "the silence she left behind." Schott's plaintive voice cries out with emotion, but the real heroes here are Stephen Erdody on cello, Endre Granat and Christine Frank on violin, and Janet Lakatos on viola.

Schott often toys with philosophic concepts. He does so in the ballad "Still Life," pondering a static, unchanging life that is passing by. Yet there's a hopeful optimistic end to it: "I've always been afraid of changing / my habits move me beyond repair / but I hold on / 'cause I know that somewhere there's still…life."

The closer, "Feels Like Home," is another mellow acoustic gem. Brooke Fox adds some winning background harmonies. Schott recounts "blessings" he should have known while pondering the absurdity of life and its nasty whispers, finding ultimate comfort in his situation: "Standing on this endless coast / I raise my glass and drink a toast / to rolling out my lover's ghost / crashing towards a future I may never know / but it feels like home, feels like home / here beside the turning tide / it feels like home."

Schott's impressive debut displays much promise. His lyrics are poetic enough to stand out, and his smart attitudes and musical choices make for an always-interesting listen. While some of the ballads seem to go on too long, Release still has enough moments of greatness to make you eager to hear the next collection from this talented musician, one that his website claims will be out sometime later this year.

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Bob Sharkey Quartet
*Foolish Nightmare*

(Mother West/ Papercup Music)

Release Date: August 9, 2005

www.bobsharkey.com

Music can be a soothing tonic, a cure for whatever ills present themselves in the course of the daily life, a panacea that invites belief in dreams, love and a better world. That's the kind of feeling you'll get listening to the mellow amalgam of folk, jazz and rock that is Bob Sharkey's music. In Foolish Nightmare, concerns of love and the world at large are filtered though dream-like musical musings, harmonies and melodies that arrive like old friends on a cloud of warmth and jazz guitar riffs.

The very capable Sharkey has been playing guitar since the age of 15. He studied jazz guitar at the University of Southern California, where he expanded his inspirations beyond Neil Young and Bob Dylan to include Miles Davis and Ornette Coleman, along with guitar greats Pat Methany, Jim Hall and Bill Frisell. After college, he returned home to the east coast, where he fronted various jazz groups (playing original music) and played alongside various singer/songwriters.

In 1999, some eleven years later, Sharkey finally got back to interpreting some of his original inspirations, gathering a quartet of exceptional musicians to perform his moody jazz-infused guitar songs (Fil Krohengold on Moog and Wurlitzer, Dan Green on bass, and Jeff Lipstein on drums). A year later a CD was released with this new sound, but live performances at NYC's The Living Room further allowed the quartet to hone their unique blend of jazz, rock, and folk sounds, improvising around lyrics, melody and song structures.

Initial tracks for Foolish Nightmarewere recorded in early 2002, yet the CD wasn't finished until December 2004. Listening to it, you wouldn't know that. The ten-song cycle seems much of a piece, moving along a logical progression that flows easily, sweet sounds that convey deep feelings.

Sharkey's voice is as mellow as his guitar, and that's evident from the first track. "Alone In Mind" sets the tone as a man is questioning his mood, turning to an old phonograph that has saved him before, letting the music go "straight to where I hear my heart." This is well-executed light jazz that delivers a lot in a short space of time.

"The City Floor" continues the pondering, wrestling with the dilemma of staying in the city, fighting "all these little wars inside myself," feeling lost and stoned with his "senses out of tune."

The title track is something special, opening with solo guitar that leads into a romantic jazz ballad (a type of song Sting probably wishes he could write). Dulcet guitar arpeggios flutter atop the melody, as our hero finds his home in a sort of perfect love, yet questions whether it's all for real: "Is this just a foolish nightmare / am I destined to wake up crying all alone / a desperate soul searching for a love I'd share with you."

"Something Special" is soft rock extraordinaire, pianos, guitars, organs and synthesizers melding into something sweet and telling, a song that might find a home on a John Mayer or Dave Matthews collection (only it seems more authentic). The song is about the realization that this is not forever, rather it's something special: "so console your fears and form your lines, and lift up your lost potential from all of the years and all of the times."

Sharkey and friends go a little more roots-music, almost into mellow southern rock realm with "Out Of This World." It's all about a relationship beginning to turn - asking for a line to be thrown - but the music and fine guitar lead will have you thinking back to early Duane Allman.

The relationship and its intricate negotiations continue in "Heaven," punctuated by brisk guitar strumming and bass lines, breaking into fluid guitar lines that spill out over this landscape of questioned friendships in a relationship where each person is scared of offending the other.

"Old Romance" is a more typical jazz ballad, moved along by the brushes and Sharkey's gently emotive vocals, swearing to the apparitions that will align the stars for an encore of that old sweet song and that relationship he vows isn't over quite yet.

"Stay Down" is a pretty and powerful call for courage, serving up advice to "save yourself tonight / all your strength is needed for the coming fight" amidst the poignant bare skeleton of mere guitar and vocals.

Less successful is "Wait Another Night," the longest song here. It seems to ramble a bit, remembering some unclear past event, resigned to an uncomfortable situation, a "holding cell in the guise of a home." It's still a pleasant aural experience, but lacks the strength of the other songs in this collection.

The CD closes with "Paid The Price," a whisper of a song that softly throbs while delivering a somber message that goes counter to the mellow sounds, talking about an inner sea of rage and being thrown (without a gun) into a war already decided.

Sharkey often manages the trick of getting his dark and melancholy messages across through the gentle persuasion of soft sounds. His calming voice recalls Michael Franks or Kenny Rankin at times, more modern mellow rockers at others, and his guitar virtuosity makes this music a real pleasure for the listener. The other members of the quartet are excellent as well - and they deserve a larger audience.

Foolish Nightmare is a tuneful and relaxing musical balm, a jazzy folk-rock blend that makes emotional turmoil-filled songs go down smoothly. It's haunting and captivating - like the memory of some lovely late afternoon's twilight - simple yet unforgettable, worth experiencing over and over again

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