Cabin Essence Blog

One of the traditions of this blog is finding music as a result of reviewing someone else. After reviewing Elizabeth Racz’s great collaboration with Vinnie Zummo, Vinnie Zummo sent me some of his own music for review.

Zummo is possibly best known as a part of Joe Jackson’s band, but he has also worked with a number of other big names such as Art Garfunkel and Roger Daltrey. He has also released a number of solo albums, the latest of which is Swinging Guitar Sounds Of Young America Volume 2.

The album is an eclectic journey through a number of styles, including rock, jazz, country, with a nod to Brian Wilson on the short but pretty Brian’s Room. Two songs explore the style of John Lennon, Homicidal and the eponymous John Lennon.

It reminds one a bit of the White Album – an effortless mastery of styles, you probably won’t love all of it, but you’ll find a lot a like.  My favorites are the pop stylings of The Moment and Special Thing -but there is a lot to explore here. You can see more about Vinnie Zummo on his website at http://www.vinniezummo.com/home.html and buy his music at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/VinnieZummo.

Elizabeth Racz is a songwriter, originally from Hungary, but now living in Ontario, Canada. Over the past year, she has collaborated on a number of songs, mostly writing with the lyrics, with a number of other talented artists. These songs were recently featured on
Dave Boogieman’s New Year’s Day party on Radio New York International and this show was a great opportunity to hear Elizabeth talk about the songs, and the exciting results of her collaborations.

On her Reverbnation page, Elizabeth mention that her songs focus on the universal themes of heartbreak, rejection and hope.  These songs certainly provide a fresh angle on these themes, and her collaborators have matched the powerful lyrics with some beautiful music,  providing that combination of heavenly sounds and powerful lyrics that move your mind, body and soul.

Performers and co-composers of these songs include the wonderful Maxi Dunn , who has  featured recently on this blog – both of her co-writes with Elizabeth are not on her recent album.  Other songs include the Beach Boys-sounding Saturday Delight, which you can hear in two versions, and the fantastic Didn’t Get The Memo by Vinnie Zummo, who has done a lot of work with Joe Jackson. She also has a new song written with Terry Draper from her favorite band Klaatu,  called No Life Before You, which you can hear on the Boogie man show -it’s a powerful and emotional rock ballad.

You can hear the songs on the show which you can download here and most of the songs are on the Reverbnation page,  some of which can be purchased on ITunes – I highly recommend that you have a listen.  Put together, they would make a great CD, and with Elizabeth having some more songs in the works, the musical world of 2012 looks even brighter.