Scroll down for reviews of the latest from The Deal, The Naomi Star, The Pulltops and Lazy

Chris Von Sneidern
The Wild Horse

(Innerstate)

Release Date: August 25, 2003

www.innerstate.com

The talented Chris Von Sneidern was one of the first do-it-yourselfers, covering multi-tracks with vocals and instruments long before it became so easy and fashionable to do so. Hailing originally from Syracuse, NY, he eventually took his talents out to the Bay Area, where he played with several power pop bands years before first taking the solo road with 1993's Sight & Sound. To this day, many cite his hook- and harmony-filled 1994 release Big White Lies as the quintessential power pop album. But with ensuing releases, Von Sneidern displayed a growing maturity and variety to his music.

After a few experiments setting poetry to music and assembling a live album, CVS returned to the studio for his first traditional pop release in years. The good news is that The Wild Horse is worth the wait. Von Sneidern's back with nuance and subtle shadings that make his new music a pleasure to behold.

The Wild Horse displays the fruits of a musical maturity acquired over the years, and is enhanced by two things that weren't evident earlier in his career: a mastery of the keyboard and a strong vocal sense of soul beneath the traditional pop exterior. Von Sneidern's work with soul/R&B side-project band The Sportsmen obviously has served him well (and two band members lend a hand here, Khoi-San on piano and Derek Ritchie on drums).

CVS is older and wiser now, and no less talented. While still covering a host of instruments on this self-produced collection, he has written songs in a wider variety of styles and is unafraid of slowing things down to better express the host of difficult emotions behind any song.

Right from the start, you'll hear the difference. "Remember" is a deceptively upbeat ballad about thinking back on a love that decidedly was one-sided. A great trumpet solo points up what truly is a very full and accomplished arrangement all around. For contrast's sake, there's a more soulful 6/8 version of this same song that closes this CD.

"Glory Days Are Gone" hearkens back to earlier CVS music, while lyrically it tends to get a little self-pitying at times, regretting choices made and citing observations of others who have chosen other paths in life. Still, the chorus is infectious and the subtle fills and lush arrangements more than overcome any lyrical weakness. The harmony-filled middle bridge is all the evidence you need to hear to know the old CVS still exists within the more mature singer/songwriter.

"Identity" is another bittersweet gem of lost opportunity: "I could be a memory, stuck inside a stubborn past / I could have taken liberty in making every moment last / Everything is everywhere, take it in but don't forget / You can fantasize the facts, but what you see is what you get."

The roots-rockin' "Ooh Mama Mama" lets CVS stretch in the unlikely direction of white soul a la Lynyrd Skynrd and others. His target here is a sad modern woman bored with her existence who chooses to drink to allay her situation ("only action she getting' is a 40. oz. beer"). The song clicks on all cylinders, from the guitars to the backing vocals (Neko Case and Kelly Hogan) -- skillfully done.

"A Simple Tune" is just that - a pleasant instrumental ballad with a trumpet lead that goes only a minute and a half.

"Neighbor's Dog" to my ears is Chris Von Sneidern writing a John Hiatt song (from Hiatt's catchy heyday) about stalking. This infectious upbeat hybrid has that sort of country energy fueling it, from the guitars to the great shouting harmonies on the chorus.
(It currently rivals Bleu's "Watching You Sleep" as my favorite stalker song.)

CVS continues to create memorable tunes and choruses that remain with you long after the music stops. He does so with "The Ballad of Zoe Snow," and laces it with irony. Here is the lowly observer, fascinated with the omnipresent beauty of supermodel Zoe Snow while he's got his head in the oven. Zoe dies in a "superstunt tragedy," but our pedestrian narrator sings on.

Another highlight from this wonderful CD is the cover of "Downtown," the one-time Petula Clark hit. Von Sneidern covers it fairly faithfully, and as such, points up the lyrical syncopated pleasures of this fine song to a generation that might not have heard it the first time around.

Segueing from the commercial strains of "Downtown," Von Sneidern takes his piano directly into the poignant ballad of "Great American Dream." Here, thoughts of the mysterious nature of love are pondered and ultimately digested as absurd confession - he's more than merely smitten, he's in love ("She said, "Why, if love is timeless and the words are true, is desire alive today but still refusing you?").

The only other non-CVS song here is "Take Me Back," an organ-tinged taunt to an ex-lover that turns into a plea to be taken back. Von Sneidern surrounds himself with a great arrangement (bass and drums and organ), and vocally, he truly makes the song his own.

The folky and Dylanesque "Horse House" combines traditional harmonica-backed western blues with modern lyrics. The casual delivery here makes the paradox of those often-comical lyrics float by somewhat without question.

"Our Last Waltz" is another beautiful song, traditional CVS in tone brought to another level of emphasis with the addition of the piano's sweet grace notes. "(Watch Them) Ride Away" again uses piano to great effect, an observational song about one's sacrifices in life for love, pondering if you'd make those same choices again.

There's plenty of soulful retro-feel to the variety of songs on The Wild Horse. While the CVS of years ago was essentially guitar-based pop, the older, more mature CVS offers richer piano-enhanced arrangements and more expressive soulful vocals in a wider diversity of offerings. This strong 14-song collection is an aural treat that should please older fans and manage to wow a few new ones also.

The Wild Horse shows that Chris Von Sneidern has only added to his talent with the experience elapsing years have provided. He is richer for that experience, and with his songwriting and performing abilities, he enriches us too.

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The Deal
Goodbye September

(Not Lame Archives)

Release Date: June 24, 2003

www.notlame.com

When songwriter Mark Roebuck and friend Eric Schwartz starting performing original acoustic music around Charlottesville, Virginia in the late 1970s, they couldn't foresee the long and circuitous musical journey yet to come. When talented guitarist Haines Fullerton caught their act in the spring of 1979, the three agreed to join forces in what would later become The Deal.

What has followed in the decades since is a long convoluted series of possible opportunities and releases that never really happened, a string of bad luck that might make any band consider changing their name to The Raw Deal. Here are just a few instances. In 1983, The Deal signed a five-album recording contract with then Warner Brothers label Bearsville Records. Later that year, they recorded an EP. Shortly after the completion of that EP, Warner Brothers ended its relationship with Bearsville. The label was left without any distribution outlet and the EP was never released. Dejected by the turn of events, Eric Schwartz and drummer Hugh Patton left the band by 1984 and suddenly, live performances for The Deal stopped.

The Deal, however, continued to record additional material. When Albert Grossman, head of Bearsville, headed to Europe in January of 1986, things were looking up. He assured them that he had lined up investors that would save the label and its acts, among them The Deal. He packed the marketing materials and tapes that should have secured the deal. But midway through the Concorde's transatlantic flight, Grossman suffered a heart attack and died. All master tapes remained legally tied up with the erstwhile label and were never released.

So The Deal broke up in 1986. But with a little assistance from Big Star alumni Jody Stephens and Alex Chilton, the band did more recording in Memphis the following year. Those sessions were done "on spec," but no major labels were interested. Finally, the group decided to independently release their only album Brave New World in 1987.

That self-release got great reviews. The Washington Post called it "remarkably self-assured pop classicism" and the Raleigh News & Observer termed it "one of the best independent releases by a regional band in years." In 1988, on the basis of the song "Cinnamon Square," Musician magazine named The Deal one of the 20 best unsigned bands in the world. Yet, that same year, The Deal again agreed to call it quits.

While some of the members went on to other musical choices (both Haines Fullerton and Mark Roebuck have written songs with Dave Matthews), sadly lead guitarist Haines Fullerton committed suicide in September of 1996.
In the wake of all that great unreleased music, Tom Bickel, avid long-time fan of the band, contacted Bruce Brodeen of Not Lame Records in 2001. Another fan, Tim Anderson, followed up by sending an extensive selection of Deal recordings. Now, in 2003, the music finally has been given a chance to be heard.

Goodbye September is that chance, and thank goodness for Bruce Brodeen and Not Lame, rescuing this from oblivion. This 15-track collection of demos and lost studio tracks is sweet and memorable.

At the basis of the Mark Roebuck songs is an acoustic sound, with harmonies, gentle folk rock that sort of predates the early sounds of The Posies circa Dear 23. Add to these well-constructed infectious ditties the kind of powerful lead guitarist you'd find in louder bands (Haines Fullerton) and you've got the winning paradox that is the sound of The Deal.

"Don't Go Out," a song about leaving, is almost Cars-like in its stutter rhythms, and features a superb dual guitar lead. "Rebel Girl" builds on a soft bass-driven beat and features great harmonies, perfectly placed as hooks, along with yet another searing lead from Fullerton.

To get a sense of Fullerton's leads, remember we're talking about a time period circa "Freebird" and those great trading Allman Brother leads, among others. Fullerton obviously was a student of these and then some.

While many of the tracks are only 4-track recordings, The Deal manages to load up those tracks with as much as they can. On "DC-10s" you get percussion that seems almost phase-shifted, and obscure lyrics that may have made a lot more sense way back when (perhaps not even then). The chorus ("If this is all I have to live for / I want to die") is extremely catchy, the harmonies work well, and Fullerton goes all out on his lead here.

Roebuck's soft tenor is pleasant to listen to, and the soft harmonies work their way into your sub-conscious effortlessly. After several listens, you'll have a hard time picking favorites: "Picture A Lady," Pass Away," "Maybe I'll Just Keep You Hanging On," and the string-laden "Cinnamon Square" are all possibilities.

"Marianne" sounds like it could be a Hollies song - the harmonies are that good. "Hopi" might be my current favorite, yet another ultra-infectious guitar-driven Roebuck creation, this one about asking a wizened Hopi for advice. "Strangers In Disguise" is very Posies-like and is built on great harmonies and wonderfully percussive guitar (and no drums).

The heavily produced "5:45" (later era The Deal, more techno/electronic) actually features a guitar solo by Todd Rundgren. The CD closes with the innocent youthful attempt that is the title song, sung into Eric Schwartz' family stereo by a 17-year old Mark Roebuck, poignant and sweet.

Perhaps with this release, The Deal finally will get some long-sought recognition, even after the fact. Mark Roebuck really knows how to write classic pop melodies, and the smooth harmonies from Eric Schwartz and impressive guitar leads of Haines Fullerton deserve a wider audience. *Goodbye September* is a true find, a collection of music that is sweet, soft, smooth and impossible to get out of your head after repeated listenings. Better late than never, they say, and that's certainly the case here.

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The Naomi Star
The Naomi Star

(Pleiades Records)

Release Date: February, 2003

www.thenaomistar.com

The eponymous debut album from The Naomi Star apparently will be their only release. According to their website (where an image of a tombstone haunts the homepage), this talented quartet is calling it quits. Considering the promise of these 12 songs (and comments about other songs that would have been on a follow-up record), this is sad news.

This quartet produced quiet, intelligent music that traversed the realm from gentle folk-pop to slightly harder-edged rock and Brit-pop. The key to The Naomi Star was pretty melodies laced with just the right touch of electric and acoustic guitars and sweet harmonies.

Connecticut-based The Naomi Star rose from the ashes of the indie band Hannah Cranna. When Hannah Crann's label at the time folded (Big Deal Records), leaving their second release unpromoted, guitarist Steve Bunovsky decided to go ahead and put out a solo record. He enlisted the help of his cousin Paul Kohler on vocals and guitar, along with Hannah Cranna's rhythm section: bassist Rocco Villavicencio and drummer Steve Raccagni and The Naomi Star was born.

The results of those initial Bunovsky sessions led to other collaborations, while Kohler and Raccagni brought along compositions of their own. Luckily, it's all captured on this auspicious debut The Naomi Star.

Kohler's "Voices" has a sweet contained hesitancy to it, its pleasant western-edged sound always hovering on the verge of breaking into something louder. "Glad That You Came" is more traditional rock territory, a guitar-driven melodic song of simple appreciation with nice harmonies that pull it all together.

"December Sun," the Raccagni contribution, is another pleasant little harmony-filled pop song, moving along with a nice back beat (not surprising from a drummer), and good contributions from bassist Villacicencio.

Kohler's songs seem a little folk-rockier, like "So Cool" and "Poor," and his expressive vocals put them across well. Either "This Man" or "Sunny Day" might be a good choice for a single, the former featuring a nice guitar lead in a song that recalls many an early Poco recording, and the latter a sweet confection of soft rock.

"Waiting" is almost troubadour-like in its soft rock ways, as is "(I Wonder Where You Are) Tonight" (think Bread meets Loggins and Messina meets The Lilac Time), while "Holding On" has delicious guitar parts.

The lead-in to "Walking to the Water" seems a distant cousin to Neil Young's "The Needle And The Damage Done," but the song goes other places. "Hard Getting Over You" closes the CD on a somber but pretty note.

All told, this soft rock with a detectable country flavor is exceedingly pleasant, straightforward and well performed. It's a shame *The Naomi Star* has faded from the musical sky, but this legacy provides hope that the members will re-emerge in some other form down the road.

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The Pulltops
8-Track

(Independent Records)

Release Date: January 24, 2003

www.thepulltops.com

Milwaukee-based trio The Pulltops mix retro sounds of the 1960s and the 1970s into something fresh and new. Their 8-song CD (appropriately entitled 8-Track) is a fun half hour's musical fare, mixing elements of blues, rock, and country into something melodic and distinctive.

At the end of 2001, when John Lennartz' departure translated to an end of things for the band Udi Subudi, the other band members decided to start something new. This new band became The Pulltops: Mark Pierret on drums, vocals and moog, Tom Crowell on guitars, bass, vocals, moog, Fender Rhodes and percussion, and Rocky Dunst on bass. Pierret and Crowell have written some fine songs here, and enhanced their efforts with great mixing and production too.

Opening with a sweeping two-and-a-half minute musical introduction of guitar lines dancing atop a strong percussive beat, you get an immediate sense you're about to hear something a bit different.

"Fences" is a fairly traditional song with many disparate elements going on at once, yet the production never seems crowded in the least. There is subtle nuance to the instrumentation, and delectable Posie-like harmonies at times. The song, about barriers, is pleasantly mellow, but with punch, much in the manner of some Velvet Crush or Gigolo Aunt songs.

"Bring It To Me" is a rather demanding chauvinistic lyric from a sort of stalker character who wants it all and wants it his way. The demanding obnoxious lyric must be somewhat tongue in cheek, right? The song itself is fairly infectious otherwise, with a nice rootsy beat driving it along, and a superb reverb-enhanced middle vocal bridge.

"Peace" builds slowly from bare vocals and guitar to eventual ironic shouts, a sweet prayer/poem of a song, full of subtle well wishes, on the order of this: "salt in your heart / a simple child / a perfect smile / I hope you find peace tonight."

"On My Way (Small Town)" reminds me of many Mike Nesmith songs both vocally and in the way the guitars have a sort of endearing Monkee/Beatle/country thing going. This is very 1960s, very catchy, and full of simple good times, a song about not being able to go back to living in a small town. Another strong track very well executed.

The Pulltops show a certain affinity for songs of comfort, safety and assurance. "Bleed," the last song recorded for this CD, is one of the best of these. As a conscious challenge, the band used unusual instrumentation: replacing the normal drum kit with marching snares and a marching bass drum, swapping Fender Rhodes, a bell kit and a fretless bass for the usual guitar parts. The end results are quite good: the fretless bass gives this song/pledge of loyal friendship and sacrifice a delightful jazzy underpinning.

Those who wonder if The Pulltops can rock harder need only listen to "Voices."

You get more of a Cheap Trick/Knack feel to things here, more basic crunchy guitar and pounding drums, and nice harmonies that soften the crazy "voices in my head" singer's narrative.

The closer "Long Way Home" is a great song (and it's rare to find many CDs that end on such a strong note). Driven by strong beats and forceful guitar, this musical journey home is one worth taking. Crowell and Pierret really show their stuff, and then the song fades into ambient road noise that goes on a bit (and might have you walking along with your thumb out, hoping for a ride).

There's a lot of power and intensity behind the varied sounds here, and this 8-Track is a fine debut sampler. The Pulltops do manage the difficult feat of taking old elements and making them new, but it all goes by far too quickly and leaves the listener eager for more.

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Lazy
Essentially

(Slumbertone Records)

Release Date: September 15, 2003

www.lazymusicproject.com

First they were Mrs. God. Then they became Teen Idol Maker. In the end they just became Lazy. Sure they've had their share of hard luck stories, trying hard to find that elusive major label record deal. And they've been through a proliferation of bass players, a good half dozen including Eels' (and now Abandoned Pools') own Tommy Walker (this was his first band). But now, at long last, they've released a CD. And I am mighty glad they did.

Lazy is the incredibly talented Joel Bell (vocals, guitar keyboards) and Pete Pagonis (drums and vocals). Pierre Gallard played guitar on most tracks, and bass duties were divided among several. Apparently, not everyone who was Lazy remained that way.

Essentially has been years in the making, and it certainly shows. You get ten songs that sparkle -- fully realized compositions with absolutely no filler whatsoever. The sound is something akin to an American Crowded House/Neil Finn or Squeeze/Glenn Tilbrook, but let me set you straight. While there are many who sound similar to Finn/Tilbrook, rarely do you find the same sort of quality material that distinguished groups like Crowded House and Squeeze. Here is where Lazy sets themselves apart from the others - each song is melodic, interestingly well crafted and intelligent.

Like most good pop, the songs will appeal at first listen. They are accessible, but for me, the reasons they stand out are several-fold: 1) excellent musicianship, well executed (whomever the bass player) and well produced, including great lead vocals and well-arranged harmonies, leads and instrumentation, 2) a real sense of structure and craft - I'm a sucker for great middle bridges and pop craftsmanship - these songs display complex set-ups and time signatures, no simple three-chord structure songs here, 3) a wonderful sense of language and expression - I often forget how good lyrics can be, these have a sense of rhyme and meter and the intelligent turn of phrase that's lacking in most modern pop music, as well as interesting choices for topic matter. I can go on, but I'd rather discuss the music itself.

The CD opens with "Sleeping In," a soft ode to the title act and perhaps a natural adjunct of being lazy too. The lyrics examine the repercussions (She said, "Well everyone must work / And meet their obligations / No one ever gets what he deserves / Life is complications.")

The poignantly infectious "Weeds" is a jazzy stutter-step of a self-deprecating thank you for everything: "'Cause in the brutal light of summer / On the soft forgiving ground / I 'm just happy to be human / Oh everybody knows it's your garden / Everybody knows that now / we're the weeds." The departed Tommy Walter delivers some nice bass work here.

It's hard to pick among these choices, but "Something New" is one of my favorites. This tale of disappointment and love lost becomes something more in the deft hands of lyrics that provoke thought: "All we lose gathers very quietly and waits for the news that we don't need it / Then the steady march of memory empties out the past / I will wait until you find / Nothing good was built to last / C'mon it's me you're talking to / That's something new for you." This track features wonderful guitar work from Pierre Gaillard.

"Perfect" is a ballad of bitter censure, aptly sung with great expression and backed with guitar that continues the attack when the words leave off. "Sun Man" is a tribute to that homeless legless man on the corner, his brains fried, a scary contemplation of "what happens when all desire is done."

Starting off like some Nilsson song, the gentle waltz of "Telephone Waltz" develops into something very Neil Finn-like. The sweet melody belies the distance of the relationship gone awry and how it is dealt with: " The telephone is where we keep / We fight to call, we fight to speak / It's not the time of your life when you're timing it, day by day / Somewhere inside is this hurt you've been hiding along the way / She says goodbye / He says so long / She starts to cry / He wrote this song."

Lazy seems to have a clever way of dealing with any number of issues. They take on infidelity with "Tell Me A Lie," a song allegedly considered for what became the film That Thing You Do. Here's the dramatic action of a later verse: "On your table sits a diary, as you gently sleep / I pick it up, testing my defenses / Very quietly turning pages, I feel like a creep / 'cause if I see his name it makes no difference /
It's not worth the sky and earth to hear my love's reply / Tell me a lie."

Even more intriguing is loss as portrayed through a spontaneous tag sale in the bittersweet "Gone." Driven to distraction, his former treasure on earth is now for sale, each item only a dollar: "Just little somethings from each place I've been / I been good at keeping it small / Everybody's charming, but then, god that wears thin / and they're no help at all." All he has believed in is gone, and yet there's hope and satisfaction in this act.

The modern hypocrite's way of valuing appearance over substance is taken on in "Real Thing." Lazy lets us know that the shallow shall fall and that only one thing matters: "He's the guy you'd want to marry / cuts the finest figure in a small town / Nothing much extraordinary / did his tour and came to put his roots down / Everything you saw he noted / fell apart when it was quoted / He stayed silent, shaking in the mud / The real thing, the real thing, the real thing is love."

The CD closes with the somber "Revolution," a musical condemnation of an America inundated by media hype and uniformity: "And God, we love our freaks and every small disaster / We're more than slightly but not overdone / And so the revolution is too big to be televised, even organized / But I refuse to join J. Crew / I trust no one to see me though / It smells like red, it stinks like blue / It's revolution."

Encouraged by the fact that pop bands like Rooney and Weezer and Fountains of Wayne have made inroads with a larger audience, Bell and Pagonis decided finally to let this material see the light of day. Thank goodness they have - and they hope to make back the expense of doing so. I hope they do and then some, because apparently Lazy has a second CD ready to go - but only if this one does well.

My biggest criticism is that lyrics are not provided (only the first song's lyrics are printed in the CD booklet). However, if you are a fan of Crowded House, Neil Finn, Squeeze or Glenn Tilbrook, I highly recommend you check out Essentially. If you are a fan of well-crafted pop with emotive vocals that engages both heart and mind, you can't go wrong with Lazy.

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