Home
Brass Tacks
Loading Inventory...
Barnes and Noble
Brass Tacks
Current price: $17.99
Barnes and Noble
Brass Tacks
Current price: $17.99
Loading Inventory...
Size: OS
*Product Information may vary - to confirm product availability, pricing, and additional information please contact Barnes and Noble
On
,
's third album since
re-formed the group in 2011, the group sounds more like the old
than ever, and given how great that band was, that's a fine thing. Now as always,
is a tremendously gifted keyboard man, songwriter, and vocalist, and he's fired up his bandmates with the sound and feel that was the band's trademark, and while one would rightly expect the songs
wrote to recall classic
, the tunes contributed by guitarist
and bassist
fit the band's traditional template so well that it seems spooky at times, as if they've been channeling the spirits of
and
. But just as importantly,
and his bandmates --
, and drummer
-- have achieved the sort of musical interplay, comfortable but deeply intuitive, that has always been
's greatest gift, and that comes through loud and clear on these performances, which are too accomplished to suggest these guys are just aping the old lineup's style.
's mix of rock & roll, jazz, and R&B is as singular and as satisfying as ever, and this wouldn't sound out of place next to much of the classic lineup's recordings, no small accomplishment. As usual,
has brought in a handful of sneakily witty tunes, including the ode to credit card debt "Greetings from Delaware," the
homage "Places Far Away," and the rollicking "I'm Not Here," while
's sweetly easygoing "I'll Be Alright" is a gem and
of
contributes "I'd Like to Know," a beautifully downbeat bit of lovelorn pop. One might expect this edition to
to develop more of a unique personality by now, but there's no arguing that they're doing what they do very well indeed, and
suggests this lineup has a lot of life in it yet. ~ Mark Deming