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Non-Prog CD Reviews

Phillip Brandon Phillip Brandon Review by Gary Hill This EP has some classy music. It runs a range between jazzy soul music to harder rocking funk and covers a lot of territory in between. The musical arrangements are solid and full of charm. The song writing is impeccable and the vocal performances are magical. The combination is extremely effective. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2014 Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

You This song just oozes cool. From the percussion heavy musical arrangement to the multi-layered soulful vocals, this is just plain classy. It’s a great tune with accessible hooks and a lot of meat on its musical skeleton.

Sail On There’s a smooth, soulful jazz vibe to this. If the opener was oozing cool, this one is drenched in it.

Turn Around The funk and rock elements are emphasized on the chorus to this tune. The verses, though, are almost in the vein of Barry White. All in all, this is another classy tune and it shows a different side of this artist.

On My Mind This one is even harder rocking. Still, it has some funk in it. It makes me think of both Faith No More and Living Colour in some ways. The guitar solo on this is smoking hot and the whole arrangement is almost metal at times. King’s X might be a valid reference point in some ways, too.

My Friend With an inventive vocal arrangement that steals the show, this is a jazzy pop number that’s quite strong.

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