| CD
Reviews
| Francesca
| Rebel
Chile
|
 |
 Lead
vocalist, Francesca
Capasso,
is somewhere between Melissa Etheridge, Janis Joplin, Beth Hart and
Tina Turner - she has enough passion and soul in her vocals to be a
legitimate member of this “club diva.” Opening track,
“Hard Drivin’ Man”
introduces this notion right off, as it
is slightly conformed, but Capasso packs a power punch with
lightning speed in the first round - she is an absolute soul queen.
The organ playing is just great on this first track as well - along
with a solid rhythm foundation expressed by Darin Hubacker (drums)
and Johnny Zell (bass). And Doug Monteith gives forth a smokin’
lead that is funk and soul rock to the core in a Bad Company sort of
way.
By the second track, “Doctor”
(“... is there a doctor in the house?”),
things begin to take on a slightly different shape. Mainly due to a
great sax by Joe Robb supporting yet another great song with
Francesca at the wheel. Good background vocals by Melani Gold,
Gayiel Von, Guitar Sally, and Tamah, I might also add.
Then comes the smokin’, blues song
“Fight”,
I love this song. It starts off with a real cool blues guitar lick
by Monteith and then slows to a sizzling halt.... Francesca belts
out a quiver of soul “I’m.............. so tired I want down
because here we go again now - I don’t wanna fight with you no
more....” Chris Cotton plays drums here and Marshall Thompson
plays a wonderful organ and piano to backup the songstress. And once
again Monteith highlights the song with his expert lead guitar.
The two-time “Top 100 Hottest Unsigned Artists” winner
(1997-1998) has been profiled in the Los Angeles Times, Buzz Weekly,
Los Angeles Music Magazine, Entertainment Today, Latin Heat, and
Rock City News, among many others. Bill Hartew, producer of KLOS
95.5FM’s Local Licks program, counts himself among Capasso’s
biggest fans. I think I’m going to be a fan myself, I watched, and
was a fan of Beth Hart before her climb and I think Capasso is an
equally safe bet. Maybe even more so....
Track 4 is the lighter track on the album. It's
"Higher"
and is pretty laid back compared to the
rest of the album. Then comes "We
The People" with
some more great piano work, this time by both Jim Furia, and Gus
Stone. This song is also another one that let's Capasso belt like
all get out! There is a cool bass in this song (John Zell), Zell and
Monteith's lead struts along with Francesca's vocal in the middle of
the song, very cool...
Title song, "Rebel
Chile" and
"Dreams"
ends this album. "Dreams" is
a ballad. Not sure who's doing the organ (Bruce Robb) maybe, but
it's good, and compliments the vocals of Francesca once more. If you
like the above mentioned female artists you should really check this
out!
G. Cataline
|
|
