Hittin' the Note Records artist: Tommy Talton - Until After Then - New Release review

I just received the newest release, Until After Then, from Tommy Talton and it is a mixed bag of cool tunes. Opening with title track, Until After Then, Talton creates an almost Steely Dan like pop jazz feel with Matt Slocum on organ, Frankie Nattola on bass and David Keith on drums joining Talton on guitar and vocal. Real Sugar has a super Al Green like R&B strut. Kevin Holly adds a cool wah wah guitar, Billy Earheart electric piano, David Hood bass, Bill Stewart drums but it is the cool sax work of Brad Guin and trumpet work by Ken Watters added to Talton's vocals that pushes this one over the top for me. Nice! Mr. Love is an easy rocker which actually reminds me quite a bit of Joe Walsh when he plays it mellow. Another cool track. That Distant Light has a super sweet Paul McCartney like melody. Talton continues to show his versatility as both a songwriter and singer. My, O, My again has a McCartney kind of sound with a quiet beauty. Talton does show a little slide work on this track and it's smooth as silk. I Keep My Mind On You changes directions radically ending up in Margaritaville. With an island feel, Holly on 12 string, Earheart on keyboard and Watters' trumpet accents, this track could easily hit the airwaves hard. She Was There is a fresh sounding pop ballad with Talton leading the way on vocal and acoustic guitar and clean piano lines by Kenny Head. The Man From Down Near Waco has a simple country western ballad feel with a pinch of rock. John Kulinich plays a cool western style guitar riff adding a nice touch. Love U A Little is a simple ditty with some real smooth acoustic dobro slide work. You Got A Friend has a catchy melody, clever rhythm and warm vocal harmonies. Wrapping the release is instrumental, Surfin' The Levee, a funky rock track with Talton on distorted vocals and guitar, Keith Head on organ, Brandon Peeples on bass and David Keith on drums. Talton does stretch out a fairly cool guitar solo on this track. This is a really nice jam to wrap up a primarily mellow release.

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Hittin' The Note artist: Tommy Talton - Let's Get Outta Here - New Release Review

I have been listening to the new Tommy Talton release, Let's Get Outta Here and it's likely to make a big splash. I first became familiar with Talton when I was tracking down every recording that Duane Allman played on a lot of years ago. Well, the band isn't Cowboy and the tracks don't sound like Please Be With Me. It's a new day. The release opens with the title track and it sounds more like Wet Willie or Steely Dan than Cowboy. This is a light breezy pop oriented track with horns and a catchy melody. You Can't Argue With Love is a rock ballad featuring Talton on vocal and slide guitar. He has a very distinct slide tone reminiscent of a few of the better slide players. Dream Last Night is a more quiet ballad further reinforcing his talent as a songwriter. Make It Through The Rain finds Talton singing harmony with his old pal Scott Boyer. A primarily acoustic rock track, this could easily make heavy airplay. Slacabamornico has a funky new Orleans beat with cool horns and strong piano work from (ex Allman Bros/Sea Level) Chuck Leavell. The horn section made up of Chad Fisher (trombone), Shane Porter (trumpet), Brad Guin (sax)really give it a workout on this party track. I don't want to miss out on mentioning Brandon Peeples on bass and Bill Stewart on drums. Where Is The World really has strong chord changes and a light jazzy sound that makes me think of Steely Dan with Talton on vocal and guitar instead of Fegan and Diaz (or Carlton/Baxter). Recent Rain has the construction sensibilities of Bob Dylan and the basic sound of Joe Walsh. It's an interesting combination. Sunk Down In Mississippi starts off with a gritty slide solo and definitely has it's roots in the blues. This is a fairly straight forward track keeping it simple and very enjoyable. You want to hear Talton play the slide...here it is! I liked this track before I heard it! How could you mot like a track called If Your Attitude Is Funky (Nobody Wants Your Monkey)! This is another breezy jazz rock track but with a really great theme. Like my artist friends say... you only need to come up with one of these... it's great! And Tommy...I couldn't agree with you more! Half of What She Is (Is All I Can Hope To Be) is another well written ballad in this case with David Pinkston added giving it a little country flavor. It really could be an Eagles track (but a good one). The last track on the recording is Tribute To Levon Helm Give A Little Bit. This track gets a lot of it's interest from the underlying bass runs by Peeples and the funky Little Feat like back beat. Tony Giordano adds some nice keys and Talton belts out some of the best open guitar work on the recording. So is this the same Tommy Talton that I heard with Duane Allman as a youth? Must be! He's still putting out fresh sounding tracks, surrounding himself with great musicians and not falling into the clutches of rehash hell. Nice job!
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