Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope everyone had a wonderful time, I know I did. There's nothing like having no drama and lots of fun with loved ones. I even heard from a long-lost friend - #mega-smile. However I feel like I'm suffering from a food hangover. Seriously, I think cabbage, green tea and prune juice are in the near future. Welcome 2012.
Anyways, here's a late installment, and hopefully you've heard of this guy already - Mayer Hawthorne. He's been on the scene for a while...I finally checked him out after reading a comment on a NCIS blog. Yes, it took an off-handed comment from actor Michael Weatherly (aka "Tony") to convince me to deliberately and formally check out Hawthorne's music. And that is the power of media.
Hawthorne continues the trend of neo/blue-eyed soul in the US...note the 60s/70s/80s/retro sound and the falsetto voice. (I wonder if it's possible to be a male contemporary soul singer - black or white - and sing baritone or bass.) Hawthorne also continues this underground trend of musicians who play, write, sing, produce - in other words, the return to talent. Being from Michigan, I'm sure he's familiar with the Motown way of producing records. I hope to see him the next time he's close to town.
"You've Got the Makings Of A Lover" definitely copies the sound of 70s R&B ballads; it reminds me of "Too Late To Turn Back Now" by Cornelius (listen to it here).
"Shiny and New" is kind of a hybrid of Earth, Wind & Fire "Love Holiday" and The Stylistics "You Make Me Feel Brand New". Very Nice!
For a blue-eyed soul explosion, youtube Hawthorne singing on Darryl Hall's Live From Darryl's House.
No comments:
Post a Comment