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11/01/06 San Diego Troubadour
Simeon Flick
Reactive Soul
by Craig Yerkes
"Simeon Flick is one of those rare wunderkinder who seems to harness
musical energy from some other dimension. The good news is that his new
CD, Reactive Soul, somehow captures lightning in a bottle so that the
rest of us can enjoy.
Within the tapestry of Flick’s work on this stunning record you’ll
find mind-bending lyrics (that may have you reaching for Mr. Webster’s
help), octave defying and soulful vocals, guitar wizardry, and an over-reaching
compositional ingenuity that binds it all together.
First, it should be noted that Flick played ALL of the instruments and
sang all of the vocal parts (the wonderful guest vocal by Cathryn Beeks
is the one exception) on this recording. Ummm…wow! There is cohesion
and confidence permeating this music, which is simply the result of a
masterful musician working tirelessly to perfect the expression. Flick
really hits his musical stride on this disc, whether he’s slinging
his own brand of brainy pop rock (“Many Moons,” “American
Boy”); jazzy, blue-eyed soul (the bona-fide hit single “Money
Don’t Make the Man” and the sizzling “Your Love is Wrong”);
or his more quirky/artsy fare (“Caveat,” “Black Mare”).
“The Acrobat” and “Grave Boy” offer glimpses into
the amazing things that Flick can do with a nylon string guitar, especially
on “The Acrobat” where the artist’s world-class classical
training and abilities will make you wonder if this is the same guy who
was just tearing it up on the Telecaster. The electric guitar performances
are flawless and inspired (personal favorite moments being the tremolo
soaked solo on “Your Love Is Wrong” and the blazing rhythm
parts on “Money Don’t Make the Man”). The brilliantly
executed lead and harmony vocals ooze passion and intensity, yet sound
utterly effortless, which boggles the mind considering how ridiculously
ambitious the parts are.
All of this takes place over a harmonic and compositional backdrop that
manages to merge wild innovation with yummy pop hooks. The music delivers
wicked, audacious surprises but doesn’t neglect to provide sonic
comfort food. For example, “Money Don’t Make the Man”
will have you instantly nodding your head as the ear candy is dished out,
but the bridge serves up a really cool, somewhat dissonant, odd time signature
cacophony that lasts just long enough to bring something fresh without
distracting from the heart of the song. “Black Mare” offers
the most intriguing blending of Flick’s alternative, pop, rock,
and folk compositional sensibilities with Dylan-esque wordplay, infectious
guitar hooks, and a deliciously dark, foreboding harmonic framework.
Now, let’s talk brain twisting lyrics. On “Money Don’t
Make the Man,” a casual listen might give the false impression that
the artist is presenting a straight ahead, feel-good, anti-materialistic
sermon, but listen more closely and you’ll hear a less idealistic
side of the conversation (“…can we pretend that money don’t
make the man?”). “Choice” also sidesteps convention
by twisting what begins to sound like a standard rock and roll anthem
about our personal power to direct our lives into a much deeper exploration
of the subject of free will.
I wish I could have made this review twice as long to cover more of the
musical and lyrical treasures to be found on this CD, but alas, there
are space limits I must adhere to. If you’ve been longing for something
to blow the cobwebs of stale musical convention out of your airspace,
this is the record you’ve been waiting for."
Another Mind Boggling Work From Mr. Flick
Reviewer: Craig Yerkes of the San Diego Trouadour
Posted on CD Baby 11/2/06
Rating: *****
The accomplished, schooled musicians of the world cast condescending looks
at what they see as the simplistic, musical under-achievers in the pop
world while the pop artists look back and wonder what’s the point
of playing so well if you can’t connect with the public. The musical
innovators disdain the cowardice they see when artists trudge over familiar
ground. The rock and rollers think all of the previously mentioned groups
need to just chill the hell out and make some noise. The minimalist folkies
see great danger in musical excess of any kind hindering the impact of
the lyrics. It’s hard to find the middle ground in all of that,
but every once in a great while an artist comes along that bridges the
gaps between all of these approaches. Sting, Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan
and Bruce Hornsby come to mind when I think of musical forces of nature
that can somehow merge radically different musical sensibilities and create
a cohesive, exciting and satisfying result. If this kind of meeting of
the musical elements sounds good to you, I give you Simeon Flick and his
latest CD, “Reactive Soul”.
If you want immediate proof of Mr. Flick’s multi pronged musical
attack, check out “Many Moons” and listen to how catchy and
easy to sing along with the first verse is. Keep listening when verse
two starts and notice how he turns the rhythm around and phrases the words
almost like a jazz musician would, then ditches the more traditional harmony
part for one that you really wouldn’t want to try to sing unless
you want to hurt yourself. Listen again and you’ll be struck by
how the bass and guitar lines, plus the chord changes alternate between
recognizable pop/rock ideas and more obtuse musical colors. While you’re
at it, grab the lyrics sheet and check out the words. Like all the other
tunes on “Reactive Soul”, “Many Moons” sports
lyrics that stand alone as fascinating, intellectually stimulating, challenging
and entertaining works.
“Black Mare” is another tune that manages to synthesize an
astounding range of divergent approaches with lyrics that would make Dylan
proud and a musical backdrop that is equal parts alternative rock, jazz,
folk, alt. country and even punk. Damn! “Black Mare”, if there
is any justice in the world, should find a place in the College Radio
Hall of Fame (is there such a place?). “Caveat” and “Carve”
also stand out as quintessential examples of Flick’s wonderfully
twisted musical side.
“Your Love is Wrong” and “Money Don’t Make the
Man” are a bit more accessible and straight ahead with funky hooks
galore in a stew of rocked out blue-eyed soul, but you will still hear
plenty of unique touches. For instance, on “Money Don’t Make
the Man”, the bridge offers a stark contrast to the rest of the
tune in the form of an odd-time, almost cacophonic eruption, but then
the sonic comfort food is restored at just the right time. “Your
Love is Wrong” could have almost been done by Earth Wind and Fire
if not for some of the compositional turns (like the funky pre-chorus
chord changes).
As if there wasn’t enough to write about already with just the electrified
tunes, Mr. Flick breaks out a nylon string guitar on “The Acrobat”
and “Grave Boy” and spins a whole new angle. “The Acrobat”
is nothing less than a masterful modern classical composition, played
with passion and precision. This isn’t a rock guy doing some kind
of convincing imitation of a classical player, this is the real deal and
it’s beautiful, stunning stuff. For you musicians out there, listen
to how Flick uses the tail end of a fast, single note flurry around the
middle of “The Acrobat” to facilitate a sly key and tempo
change.
“Grave Boy” reminds me a bit of Jose Feliciano’s more
hip offerings with pulled strings creating a grooving, pulsating rhythm,
while Flick’s falsetto completes the hypnotic sound perfectly.
Simeon Flick played all of the instrumental parts and sang almost all
the vocal parts (with a guest vocal by Cathryn Beeks on “Choice”
being the only exception). While I am normally not a big fan of the “one
person plays all” approach, it really works on this disc by creating
a cohesion and consistency that is quite amazing. The electric guitar
parts are equal parts raw energy, passion, creativity and skillful execution.
The solos on “Caveat”, “Money Don’t Make the Man”
and “Your Love is Wrong” (loved the tremolo soaked tone) are
masterful and really support the tunes while the rhythm guitar playing
throughout the entire recording provides the primary engine that drives
the music so powerfully.
Check “Money Don’t Make the Man” for an example of how
the sizzling rhythm guitar parts give the music that perfect dose of juice.
The bass and drum parts are dead on in the pocket and provide a perfect
backdrop for the rhythm guitar.
If you showed the vocal parts on “Reactive Soul” to any schooled
producer/arranger, in written form, you would certainly be told that they
are “too ambitious” and “ill-advised”. The fact
that Flick wrote these ridiculously difficult lead and harmony vocals
for himself point to a masochistic streak in the artist. The vocals are
all over the map in terms of range, style, emotional delivery and harmonic
structure. Flick handles it all with ease, confidence and passion, making
it all sound utterly organic.
The recording of the vocals is just right in the way they are out front
and not too heavy on the effects. Listen on “Black Mare” how
Flick incorporates everything from whispers to screams, highs to lows
and everything in between. Crazy good singing here to be sure.
“Reactive Soul” stands in sublimely stark contrast to the
re-hashed, stale musical offerings that clog the airwaves these days.
That is not to say that this music is too high-minded for the masses.
On the contrary, this is that very special brand of music that manages
to pull of the highest level of creative integrity while still being a
complete blast to listen to. This is rarified stuff and not to be missed."
* * *
"San Diego's Simeon Flick has a new CD out, his third, that is all
over the map stylistically. In fact, his MySpace page (myspace.com/simeonflick)
describes his music as "Alternative / R&B / Folk Rock,"
which is probably as good a definition as exists.
But those rather disparate styles aren't mixed together--instead, they
alternate, track by track, song by song. The album starts off with a kind
of throwback art rock piece a la Boz Scaggs or Rupert Holmes, then on
the second song (the advance copy didn't include song information) it
starts sliding into an East Coast R&B groove that lasts a couple tracks.
The fourth song is a flamenco-flavored instrumental on acoustic guitar;
then it's a power-pop bit of alt-rock, a couple of folk-rock tracks, and
so it goes for all 13 songs.
While a bit distracting, the thing is that every song is incredibly well-constructed;
every arrangement works. And Flick is such a strong, expressive singer
that the gear changes don't faze him a bit. That confidence and ability
to switch from style to style and back again end up being one of the album's
strengths--the stylistic changes not only hold your attention musically,
but they cause you to pay closer attention to each song to see how Flick
will approach each new style.
The CD is available through CDBaby.com."
--Jim Trageser, Thursday, 9/28/06 edition of the North County
Times
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