EVERYTHINGJason McCoyOpen Road Records8.5-out-of-10
In terms of Canadian country few names are bigger than Jason McCoy, who has had success as both a soloist and the mega-popular Road Hammers.
Well McCoy is back with a new CD, Everything, which hit the shelves March 1. He will be on the road in support of the new disk with a cross Canada tour, which will include a stop at the Painted Hand Casino in Yorkton March 18.
With the new disk McCoy shows that as a veteran of the country scene he knows the genre and country radio well.
That should not be a surprise since McCoy is a two-time CCMA Male Vocalist of the Year, and three-time CCMA Songwriter of the Year (SOCAN Song of the Year), for Born Again in Dixieland, Ten Million Teardrops, and Rocket Girl.
The experience means McCoy can write and sing a country song that has radio all over it, and he does just that with I'd Rather Be Happy Than Right, I'm Only In It For The Country Girls, and Little Bit Of Lovin'.
But McCoy is at his best when he shifts in down a gear (had to make a trucker reference with his Road Hammer fame).
The title song is a slower cut and I expected it would be the best of the CD when I first heard it. It's that good.
However, it comes in at second best pretty quickly after listening to Louisiana Law, a beautiful ballad, one with a rich storyline in the same vein as Seven Spanish Angels, and frankly just as good. This is the cream on this CD.
McCoy does not take any risks here. It's straight forward, modern country. It's made for radio. He goes from the toe-tapper, top down, running down the dirt road on a hot summer day song, to the kind of slow song you can hold your gal close with on the dance floor.
The risks are not taken, but then again what McCoy does simply works. There isn't a weak spot on the disk. This is a veteran showing off all he knows about making his way in modern country. Nicely done Mr. McCoy.
Check it out at www.jasonmccoy.com- CALVIN DANIELS
THE POWER OF YANGNiktexIndie8.5-out-of-10
So you're a regular reader, and you know I tend to like music which pushes into new areas. There is something compelling about the effort to blend music in different ways.
That is the reason I was immediately intrigued by Niktex, a collaborative effort joining Nikole Texidor and Manjinder Benning.
The pair work at mixing electronics and Indian instruments into folk and jazz. The result is actually quite beautiful.
Texidor herself has a beautiful voice which would easily carry either jazz, or folk. It is the vocals which you immediately notice, and like -- a lot.
Benning adds the refreshing instrumentation, cajan, tabla, cast iron pan, to which Texidor at times tosses in her own efforts on cabasa, gourd and glockenspiel. The diversity of music here truly adds to the depth of the overall effort.
The song Irrationalities is one which truly shows the strength of the collaboration, and is one of the best songs here.
This is one of those CDs which will have a tough time finding a radio spot, but that is not a bad thing. It generally means the music simply doesn't fit the cookie cutter motif too well.In this case ignore radio, and buy this disk direct. This is a fresh take on folk / jazz, and a totally enjoyable listen.
Check it out at www.niktexmusic.com- CALVIN DANIELS
Past reviews are archived online at http://calmardan.blogspot.com/
