Eric Kern and John Ratts are an intuitive songwriting duo, who take the Lennon-McCartney approach--one starts a song, the other adds finishing touches--a bridge here, a harmony there. They both agree that the sum of their partnership is greater than the parts. But the songs only become true Vegas With Randolph songs when they’re presented to the full band, who polish and arrange them. Dan Aylestock, Dave Purol, and Brock Harris are the rest of this great team, and they’ve crafted a power pop album which is one of the finest of 2011 to date.
Full disclosure here--I was given the great honor of writing the liner notes to Above The Blue. This was a thrill and a half, and all I had to do was to listen to advance copies of the songs, and jot down a few impressions of them--voila! The piece practically wrote itself. The songs are so great, any fanboy like myself could have written liner notes.
What kind of songs are we talking about? Upbeat, celebratory songs which are the perfect soundtrack to your summer cookouts, swim parties, or even blaring out of car windows. Lots of songs about love, romance, family, beautiful actresses. Great, massive guitar riffs and crashing drums. Yearning vocals. And excellent, thoughtful choices in guest collaborators--guitarist Vinnie Zummo of Joe Jackson’s band on one song, Maxi Dunn takes vocals on another, and amazing orchestration in a few places by none other than Wim Oudijk. And finally, the album closes with an album-within-an-album piece called Double Play, a concept that proved to be really successful on their first album.
We’ll chat with the guys, who are about as down to earth and regular as you can possibly get--and most importantly, hear a few of the new songs off of Above The Blue. I can’t wait for you to hear it!
If you'd like to make a request, just drop me a line at mike(at)rechargedradio.com. If you'd like to become an honorary California citizen, drop me a line at the same address. And if you'd like to hear all this great music—simply tune in to the California Diner, Tuesday night, 8:00-10:00 p.m. (GMT), 12:00-2:00 p.m. Pacific, only at Recharged Radio—www.rechargedradio.com.
This note also appears in the News section on the home page of RechargedRadio.com.
See you then!
Chef Mike
mike(at)rechargedradio.com
MN2BDNC
PLAYLIST:
Sarah Taylor - Easy To Forget
Maple Mars - Beautiful Mess
Emily Zuzik Band - Motels
Luke Dick - The Healer
Domus - Es Mi Ola
Mark Bacino - Middle Town
Maxi Dunn - Firecracker V Mr Flash Rocket
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop - Sun Up
Vegas With Randolph Interview
Vegas With Randolph – Summertime
Vegas With Randolph – A Lesser Fool
Vegas With Randolph – Even Though
Catholic Spray - Captain Wolf
Heiskell - Sick Of Nothing
Tom Alford - Shiloh
Chad Neaves - You Said
Kitty & The Lost Boys - Rushing To My Side
Dave Stephens - Mr. Wonderful
Kyro (with Lindy LaFontaine) - This Too, In Time, Shall Pass
Little Guilt Shrine - What I'm Thinking
Boomchick - TGTW
Joey Oskys - Here In This Town
Laurie Biagini - Leave Me Alone
Duncan Faure - Man Of A Thousand Dreams
Jerzey Street Band - Wasting Time
Mad Tea Party - Blues Slip In
The Vertigos - Rubix
Lannie Flowers - Turn Up Your Radio
Anton Barbeau - Skunk Hungarian
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