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Issue
#36
Apr '02
Asbury Park, Bruce
Springsteen, The E Street Band, Clarence Clemons,
Clarence Clemons Temple of Soul, Billy Livesay, The Livesays, Asbury
Park.
The
Livesays hail from Miami, FL. They might as well
be living in Jersey. With Mars Cowling (bass), Eddie Zyne (drums), Stan
Waldman (sax) and
Fronted by Billy Livesay (guitars, vocals, and keyboards), who also
provides vocals and
lead guitar for Clarence Clemons Temple of Soul, The Livesays are
Asbury Park all over the
place. And they bring it all as if they were spoon fed the righteous
force that this big
rock sound wields.
This CD captures
The E Street Band sound in all its glory. Good, good
stuff, powerful Sax, amazing Slide Guitar work, and a solid rhythm
section all laying down
songs about girls and relationships, and the feel good, feel bad, feel
good emotional
roller coaster ride involved - all the while set to a sound track that
would make Eddie
and The Cruisers (John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band) seem a tad
"off" in
comparison. Actually I would align The Livesays
more closely to Little
Steven & The Disciples of Soul (Miami Steve Van
Zant’s old band).
Little
Bit Of Hurt opens with On The Edge Of A
Dream thrusting us right into the jammin’ Rock of
relationships where dancing is
more than a metaphor and just as important as the car you drive through
your hometown
everyday. Then, dig the amazing slide guitar work and sax solos
following each other in
the middle bridges of Under The Heat of A Full Moon
teasing us ever heavily with
the hot passionate love of one night and how it can be all that matters
in that particular
instant.
I Wish,
Rhythm
Of Love, Holdin’ On,
and the
Title track send us into the soaring heights of Classic Rock, bringing
to mind the
accomplishments of such artists as Bon Jovi, Tom Petty, John
Mellencamp, and Bob
Segar’s Silver Bullet Band - while Feelin’
Fine and Listening To
The Radio will have you reaching for your Bic lighter and
standing on your chair as
these Arena ballads drive home the heartache of break-ups and past/lost
relationships.
As Asbury Park
brought us to understand: it’s the mood that the
music can extract from us. The Livesays
extract from us the delight of
discovering such fresh disciples of a sound that has few to spread the
word. By the sheer
power that The Boss rules over the sound, there are few who attempt to
take the baton (not
to say that Bruce need pass it off, yet- ) but, there is a need for
bands to carry forth
the magic and emotional state of mind that spills forth through the
hook that is the whole
sound. For too long it has labored and toiled in the shadow of its
creator, instead of
spreading forth. Now finally along comes The Livesays
to once again stir
the soul.
Anchoring the
middle of this 12 song soulful rockin’ rhythm CD
is Can I Have What You Have a stripped down
acoustic based song that immediately
brings to mind Dylan’s “Romance In
Durango” – not for the subject
matter, but for the heavy Mexican musical flavor that runs throughout.
This masterful
ballad details the slow descent into unlawfulness brought forth by
poverty, and it is a
chilling commentary on a social crisis that affects us all.
Whether it be
serious humanity issues, the beauty or pain of
relationships, or just a story of the everyday simple life of an
everyday simple man;
it’s the The Livesays music
that expresses the emotions behind the
words. The band uses the perfect platform of the Asbury Park sound to
get across to us
that while there might be a Little Bit Of Hurt
in life, there’s also
the dancing, and the Rhythm Of Love to be making us Feelin’
Fine.
Little Bit Of Hurt by The Livesays
is available now for $9.98 + s/h*
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