http://www.cyndiharvell.com/

And of course, check out Renee and Romo at www.reneeandromo.com

And our site at www.reneeandromo.com

review by Emmett Chapman

Sometimes one cloud is all you need.

It follows you around, something to proudly point to wherever you go. And if your live gig doesn’t turn out as planned, you’ve got this silver lined CD to stand in for you. (I must say though, I’m pretty sure Rob Martino can play almost all of this CD live any time he wants to.)

And yes, it’s a treasure, and I have no doubt, also a milestone for Rob.

It’s all solo Stick and The Stick sure sounds good! There are almost no effects in the foreground Stick sound. The “orchestra” of textures, voicings and expressions are all from his hands. The entertainment value alone is high, as it’s fascinating to hear what one artist can extract from a single musical instrument live in a recording studio – strumming effects, harp like arpeggios, a broad dynamic range, always a dialogue between the hands, and of course those familiar passing tone embellishments from his bass 4ths tuning.

My biggest surprise was in the variety of rhythmic grooves he creates throughout the album. In his two extended songs, “Circle” and “Enigma”, the rhythmic element becomes even more intense as he stretches out. This more relaxed yet more dynamic mode of play might foretell a future direction in his musical art!

And yes, I hear the “vintage” sound of Michael Romanowski’s special mastering process. It’s somehow an American electric guitar sound with a metallic ring from bass and melody sides. Rob doesn’t even bother to change timbers from song to song. It’s always his same unique sound of well recorded but largely unprocessed Stick strings through dual in-phase Villex PASV-4 pickups. I believe such faithful sonic consistency is the mark of a true stylist, putting ones best foot forward at all times, in plain shoes.

Now and then he throws in some time-extended, “sweetening” washes played live through Guitar Rig audio plug-ins on his computer, but even then the straight Stick strings dominate and the soloist shines through.

Rob has an array of unusual resources in his fingers, an expressive variety of sub-techniques that uniquely serve each of his eight original songs on this album. Here are my “highlight” moments:

1) “One Cloud” as we know it, but with subtle refinements, and very well recorded and mixed.

2) “Circle”, an 11-minute stretch that gathers in dynamics and intensity, showing Rob’s spontaneous side.

3) “Dream” with fascinating sonic textures and rhythms.

4) “Cloud Dispersed”, an apt title for his loose thematic reinterpretations of “One Cloud”.

5) “Differential”, where the rhythms stand out, along with a growling low bass.

6) “Turbulence” with rich, harp like cross-patterns, again with a pronounced bass growl.

7) “Star” with sustained melody ringing out like bells. (Could this be a new, more musical form of reverb?)

8) “Enigma” with more melodic bells a’pealing. And the chords seem unusually transparent, which of course allows an opposite quality, that of richer and more complex chord progressions and voicings.

I’ll say it loud, “I’m part of the crowd extremely proud of One Cloud.” Emmett

You can hear sample tracks at Rob’s website. One Cloud on CD is now available from Stick Enterprises, and as a digital download from DigStation

Track Listing (all songs by Rob Martino)
1. One Cloud (3:35)
2. The Long Circle (11:06)
3. Conscious Dream (5:15)
4. Cloud Dispersed (2:17)
5. Differential (5:27)
6. Turbulence (1:26)
7. Mighty Distant Star (6:11)
8. The Third Enigma (13:14)

http://welcomemattsf.com/

http://www.joelstreeter.com/

For true lovers of Americana.

There’s an ongoing debate as to what Americana actually is. This website gives a definition, but whenever I’m asked to describe it, I struggle. And I’m supposed to be an “expert”; well I’m not, I’m merely someone who has the opportunity to provide a personal opinion on music in a public space.

But fear no more Americana fans. Simply go out and buy this album and you will get what Americana is about; all the answers are here. Upon the first couple of listens it doesn’t happen. Well it didn’t for me, but persevere and then it all becomes apparent.

‘The Ten Ton Feather’ gives us most of the Americana genre including folk, blues, country, bluegrass, gospel, rock’n’roll, stomps and hollers. Hell there’s even some old-timey in the mix too. I think that just about covers Americana; don’t you?

What is so good about this album is Didia and Espiritu can cover each of the constituent parts of each of the aforementioned genres and leave us wanting more. Too many albums these days tend to flog one or another genre to death, whilst purporting to cover the entire landscape on one album. Not so here.

Kicking off with the immensely likeable Appalachian bluegrass of ‘Wailing Sun’ and swiftly following it with the gentle contemporary folk of ‘Big River’, this duo set their variety of wares out on display. Effortlessly combining their vocals and expert guitar and ukulele playing, these two were simply made for each other.

Espiritu is a native of the Philippines and she’s got a voice that’s reminiscent of Vika or Linda Bull. DiDia has developed a unique lap-style playing method that drives the sound along, but he can also be laid back and thoughtful, particularly on the acoustic guitar in the final song ‘To The Ends Of Love’.

This CD contains 14 tracks and I could rave about all of them. But for the sake of brevity, some of the highlights include the tracks already mentioned, plus the melancholic ‘I Dream Of You’, the moody haunting ‘Shine’, the boogie blues of ‘Mississippi’, ‘Flying’ with its simple harmony’s plus ‘Suzanne’ which falls into the “thought provoking” camp, as do many of the other songs. ‘My Country’ brings in some gospel inspired acapella.

And if I was to re-write this review, I’d probably concentrate on highlighting the other five tracks, not to mention the wonderfully written lyrics. The album has an extremely well balanced running order that allows the songs to compliment each other whilst also providing the light and shade that all great albums have. As DiDia & Espiritu themselves state this album “Makes the old sound new, in an old sort of way.”

Select random on your CD player, and you have an instant Americana jukebox; all in one package. Albums like this don’t come along that often, so get yourself a copy. You’ll be kicking yourself if you don’t. And if for some reason you don’t like it, I will personally refund your money. Or refer you to the Americana doctor for help.

http://www.uaudio.com/webzine/2009/december/basics.html

(Please click on any image to see a larger view.)

ATRS

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