Kelli Baker – Gone, Georgia Gone
Similar artists: Samantha Fish, Susan Tedeschi, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Led Zeppelin
Genre: Blues. Classic Rock
The future is always terrifying. It’s that way because of objective reasons such as the possibility of more wars, disease and natural disasters. And, frankly, it’s scary because of entirely selfish reasons. I tremble at the thought of my favourite acai bowl place getting shut down. What if they make a spinoff of The Office, and it sucks. And, most importantly, what if the music that becomes popular is something that I cannot find any way to relate to?
We all need a bit of familiarity even as we are treading toward a new and exciting dawn. We all have to trust in the power of habits. I’d like to think that Napoleon never stopped drinking his espresso all throughout his great campaigns. When it comes to pop music, we still need it to start talking to us in a language that we understand. Music changing is inevitable, but if it wants us on board, it has to win us over by building a bridge with the past.
Kelli Baker’s “Gone, Georgia Gone| is a fresh-sounding, modern pop tune that could have been written decades and decades ago by the great blues-influenced rock musicians. No, this isn’t a walk down Retro Avenue. Baker’s performs this, frankly, like the power of the blues is such that it will never truly leave pop music. As for Kelli Baker’s own abilities, those are the ones that make you think that there’s still truth to be discovered in that old blues howl. That’s enough to make you hopeful.
The Chewy Center – Janet Flight
Similar artists: Flying Colors, Spock’s Beard, The Flower Kings, Umphrey’s McGee
Genre: Progressive Rock, Classic Rock
It’s a sad thing, really, but the jazz people and progressive rockers often resemble great, beloved teachers who never seem to do anything for themselves. Like those teachers, the musicians in question possess an extraordinary amount of knowledge. They might know what works and what doesn’t. They might be able to execute those things better than others.
But their great novel still sits in a drawer somewhere. It gets taken out for air once in a while just so that a few more sentences can be added to it. But it never gets finished, never gets presented to anyone who could publish it, and those in question end up talking about their heroes rather than following them. But, oh, when some of them decide to throw their hats in the ring, the results can be spectacular.
The Chewy Center’s “Janet Flight” sounds like the work of a progressive rock band trying to show the less developed pop-rock groups how it’s done. In that way, it resembles the strategy of bands in the 80s, like Asia or that decade’s versions of Yes or Genesis. This is very well-performed and produced music. But the goal isn’t merely to dazzle but for the musicians to show themselves and the world that the hits are out there for those who will go looking for them.
