No Big Thing
Buy And Sell
Shadow Line
Nobody Home
Crime Of Love
Cruel World
Breakin' Down
Gonna Shout
Tight Like That
The Stranger
Frogtoon Music Album Info: Hidden Charms
Published: 03 Mar 2017, 22:01
Rick Shaffer’s Album “Hidden Charms ” Continues Expands And Nicely Follows-Up The Feel Of His First Solo Album “Necessary Illusion ” Released March Of 2010. The Idea Is To Have The Album Sound New And Old Simultaneously Allowing It To Find It’s Place In A Radio Mix From 1965 And Beyond. The Sonic Blueprint For “Hidden Charms” Is A Proto–garage Rock/blues Heavenly Distorted Guitar With Melodies Buried Beneath A Mash-Up Of Unadulterated Garage Vibe. Inspired By Link Wray’s Swan Singles Collection Early Stones And Heavy Doses Of Mississippi Hill Country Blues Bop. The Basic Track Sound Is A Simple But Steady Primitive Hypnotic Beat And Percussion Ultra Distorted Guitar And Aggressive Raw Vocals With Intense Personal Lyric Content. The Opener ”No Big Thing” Is A Short And Fast Rocker In The Mold Of 1964-65 Stones’ R&b Years With Some Hyperactive Fuzz-Toned Guitar Jangle Tambourine Stroll-Backbeat And A Frantic Pschobilly Vocal Where The Message Is No Matter What Comes At You “ain’t No Big Thing.” “Buy And Sell” Has A Reverb Soaked Guitar Hook Oversaturated Riffs Driving Maureen Tucker Drum Beat A Subdued Confessional Lead Vocal With Leon & Les Contributing Some Nice Mid 60’s Cool With Their Background Vocals. This Song Has One Of The More Catchy Hooks And Is A True Candidate For A Single. “Shadow Line” Is A Stripped-Down Smooth Chugging Rocker With Thick Atmospherics That Burn With A Quiet Intensity Exploding In The Middle Then Resolved In The End Refrain. This Track Explores And Defines Much Of The Lyrical Content Of The Album One Of Standing Up For Bad Luck Mistakes Wrong Choices And Most Importantly Living In The Moment. Thank You Joseph Conrad. “Nobody Home” Has Some Thick Heavy “Mojo Raunch” Going On With A Bluesy Delta Tremolo Riff And Gravelly Vocal. Laid Down Straight Up With Tambourine Snare Drum And Guitar A Hill Country Stomp With A Bass And Tremolo Overdub. This Track Has A Jesse May Hemphill/Howlin’ Wolf Vibe Inside A Wall Of Distortion. “Crime Of Love” Is A Great Minor Key R&B Rocker In The Vein Of The Otis Rush Hit “Homework ” With A Driving Backbeat And Jangle Tambourines “Premier Reverberation” Guitar Hook Combined With A Soulful Twisting Vocal Hook. The Theme Of This Track . . . How Much Murder Is The Result Of Lying Cheating And Jealously . . . “still Be Goin’ On.“ “Cruel World” Was Recorded In The Mississippi Hill Country With The Rhythm Section Of Leon Wingfield And Les Chishom Who Also Kicked In Some Vocals On This One. A Slide Number With Deep-Throated Vocal Delivery About The Ever Present “killer On The Highway ” Set To A Pumping Insistent Riff A Nod To The Yardbirds And Mick Ronson With A Savage Slide Part To Have The Song Exist Raw And Pure In It’s Form. “Breakin’ Down” Has A Slow Bluesy Loose Laidback Groove Set To A White Noise Boogie Guitar Background With A Two-Step Bass/drum Hop Slinking Slide Guitar A Pleading Desperate Vocal Conjuring Up Visions Of The Freefall Breakdown On Many Levels And The Unspoken “gentleman’s Agreement” That Allows It To Exist . . . “politics Religion . . . Only Steal When They Can.” On The Track “Gonna Shout” The Original Menace Arrives With Feedback Banging Drum And Percussion Followed By A Psychotic Distorted Guitar Riff Weaving It’s Way Throughout The Song With Slashing Guitar Counter Punches And A Hyped Up Vocal In A Paranoid Claustrophobic Garage Power Pop Song Accompanied By The Most Nasty “goonish” Background Vocals. “Tight Like That” Is A Classic Stonesy/Chuck Berry Riff Against A Caustic Grinding Sleazy Groove Guitar With A Loose Soulful Vocal. A Middle Slide Section And Sharp Fuzzed Out Guitar Interplay On The Breakdown That Grabs And Smashes You Against The Wall. It’s A Fantastic Driving Song . . . Imagine A Convertible Wind Blowing Over You An Empty Highway Ahead And “Tight Like That” Playing FUCKING LOUD. “The Stranger” Has Violent Dreamlike Sergio Leone/Alejandro Jodorowsky Imagery Married To A Driving John Lee Hooker Blood Splattered Groove A Primal Howl With Murderous Lyrics That Take It To It’s Logical Extreme. The Track Fades And Sinks Into Your Head With The Closing Line “time Ain’t On My Side.” For Your Listening Pleasure The Guy Stevens Producer Manuel Was Used In Full Compliance In The Making Of This Album . . . Made Loud To Be Played Loud . . . Turn It The Hell Up. ∎ To Read Reviews Of This Album Visit TarockMusic.Com Then Hover On The 2011 HIDDEN CHARMS LINER NOTES Tab To See The Review Sub-Tabs.