Retro eclectic alternative

11 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Post-Rock/Experimental, ELECTRONIC: Electronica



Details:
In honor of the 23rd anniversary of the Replacements' third album, Craig Wisda has titled his fourth CD "Let It Be." This is an eclectic mix of Rock, Electronica, Folk, Soul, Disco, Reggae, Progressive, Spaghetti Western and Salsa music.

This isnât the Greil Marcus in-depth analysis of Craigâs latest CD, but here are some thumbnail impressions:

Let There Be Light - cool opening ...couldnât make out all the lyrics but I hear classic Wisda themes of despair and light...sin and redemption

Anymore - nice pop intro -- Nick Lowe-ish. Cool story song...nice rhythm and musical textures. I like the tarmac, blackjack rhymes...rely...barfly...fall guy...bayonet...brunetteâ¦very Dylanesque

Find My Way - nice funky groove, reminds me of Talking Heads --a touch of Grateful Dead harmonies. Good lyrics, nice vocals.

Meanwhile - like the Santana-style guitar intro. Nice melody. Nice shift in the bridge. Great guitar solo

Confess Your Love - cool dance-rocker with kind of atonal shadings - Bowie-esque -- good hook

Conflicted and Confused - I like the clean sound, pop melody, and clear vocals. A little bit like Misfits-era Kinks, good lyrics, nice harmonies. I like the bass line

Complicated - nice catchy song, I like the reggae feel -- nice lyrics, love the back-up vocals, very, very catchy. Could have been on Jimmy Cliffâs âHarder They Comeâ soundtrack

Free - nice sounding track, guitars sound good, nice dynamics -- sounds like classic Wisda themes of truth and lies, freedom and redemption

Electronic Race - nice instrumental, Townshend-like combo of acoustic and electric, ala âTommyâ

Alabaster Box - reminds me a bit of Cream stuff, maybe it's the wah-wah, sound of the vocal and some of the lyrics. Alabaster Box is a cool image, not sure what it means, but it's intriguing

Ya Callate! - great groove and arrangement of bongos/congas, horn etc Nice driving bass, great vocal. A really good one.

To me, Complicated is the catchiest, because the back up vocals are so well done and ever-shifting. I would put Conflicted and Confused, and Ya Callate! as my runners up for fave tracks.

Cool stuff!

Dean Stefan
The Spoilers