17-02-2019, 10:33
ROBERT ELLIS ~ Texas Piano Man
![[Image: image.jpg?c=7KZaLkQeA5GG02109IdxX9_M69_U...2-yAg=&f=5]](https://rovimusic.rovicorp.com/image.jpg?c=7KZaLkQeA5GG02109IdxX9_M69_UI9rrJSVvWL2-yAg=&f=5)
A new piano man! Robert Ellis is primarily a guitar guy, which you’ll hear here too, but he certainly tackles the keys with aplomb and acquits himself very nicely thank you!
Not quite as twee as The Beautiful South but a similar concept on the first track which is titled “F…ing Crazy” and is liberally scattered with said effing in a harmonious and melodic setting – doowah backing vocals ‘n all. It’s intended to be contextual and not offensive (although I’m sure there’s some carefully calculated shock value in the equation) and it isn’t, but it does tell you that there might be a bit of grit and zaniness under the apparently conservative presentation package.
Yay! A contemporary singer/songwriter offering some wonderful keys which anchor the array of beautifully arranged additional instruments, including excellent percussion. There’s a highly accomplished sheen to this album, and it’s not at all old fashioned in content – he speaks to current societal matters (for example bemoaning the fact that “Nobody Smokes Anymore” – lol!) in a relaxed, humorous, modern lingua franca in the setting of the clearly understood, tried and tested tenets of songwriting. To be less wordy – it sounds as though he’s studied the great songwriters of our time and conceded that their recipe is sufficient, so applied the techniques and yet updated them too, although not beyond recognition. Is that better? Probably not, but I hope it conveys a sense of the lovely rich layers you’ll hear on this eminently listenable release.
There’s a bit of rock, some jazzy moments, singer/songwriter, pop – I AM reminded of Billy Joel now and then, also vestiges of Simon & Garfunkel, Harry Nilsson, James Taylor and even a little of Ryan Adams – all in a slightly more direct voice, which incidentally is not highly polished but has good range and most importantly, is able to deliver emotion – there is lots of colour, both vocally and instrumentally and the album is fun without being frothy. Easy and amusing - I like it – a lot. To purchase list ahoy.
The aforementioned ‘elegy’ to smoking - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAPMKKVoj0M
“Passive Aggressive” – another lol! So true - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IooJzdJOxjE
"When You're Away" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THVD4TN8T1Y
Some lovely quieter ballads too – this is one of ‘em … “Lullaby” … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY9-WM4dsqA
And another …
A new piano man! Robert Ellis is primarily a guitar guy, which you’ll hear here too, but he certainly tackles the keys with aplomb and acquits himself very nicely thank you!
Not quite as twee as The Beautiful South but a similar concept on the first track which is titled “F…ing Crazy” and is liberally scattered with said effing in a harmonious and melodic setting – doowah backing vocals ‘n all. It’s intended to be contextual and not offensive (although I’m sure there’s some carefully calculated shock value in the equation) and it isn’t, but it does tell you that there might be a bit of grit and zaniness under the apparently conservative presentation package.
Yay! A contemporary singer/songwriter offering some wonderful keys which anchor the array of beautifully arranged additional instruments, including excellent percussion. There’s a highly accomplished sheen to this album, and it’s not at all old fashioned in content – he speaks to current societal matters (for example bemoaning the fact that “Nobody Smokes Anymore” – lol!) in a relaxed, humorous, modern lingua franca in the setting of the clearly understood, tried and tested tenets of songwriting. To be less wordy – it sounds as though he’s studied the great songwriters of our time and conceded that their recipe is sufficient, so applied the techniques and yet updated them too, although not beyond recognition. Is that better? Probably not, but I hope it conveys a sense of the lovely rich layers you’ll hear on this eminently listenable release.
There’s a bit of rock, some jazzy moments, singer/songwriter, pop – I AM reminded of Billy Joel now and then, also vestiges of Simon & Garfunkel, Harry Nilsson, James Taylor and even a little of Ryan Adams – all in a slightly more direct voice, which incidentally is not highly polished but has good range and most importantly, is able to deliver emotion – there is lots of colour, both vocally and instrumentally and the album is fun without being frothy. Easy and amusing - I like it – a lot. To purchase list ahoy.
The aforementioned ‘elegy’ to smoking - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAPMKKVoj0M
“Passive Aggressive” – another lol! So true - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IooJzdJOxjE
"When You're Away" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THVD4TN8T1Y
Some lovely quieter ballads too – this is one of ‘em … “Lullaby” … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY9-WM4dsqA
And another …
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson