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Reviews - Gabriel Gordon - Bang Sheet Reviews

I'm not worthy.

I'm not used to music like this. Here at bangSheet we often hear the unpolished, the raw, the stuff you just don't know how to label. So putting Gabriel Gordon on the old hi-fi is a little scary. This is some music bra. Some music. A lot of professional sound. A lot of fancy equipment. And press releases listing performances with folks like Natalie Merchant, Bonnie Raitt and artists who play with heavy hitters like Joe Jackson, BB King and the Neville Brothers. Damn. A bit high brow for bangSheet. Guess I'll have to mind my manners. But I'm enjoying this sound. The publicity schlock says Gordon is influenced by Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell and Jeff Buckley, and I have to say I like a stew that simmers with Jimi and Joni in the same pot. Make no mistake, this Frequency is soulful rock. It is rich with talented voices, carried by strong drums and bass. Butcher. John Butcher Axis, is who I am reminded of when I hear this stuff. Though, frankly, Gordon's sound is more complex than Butcher. Gordon has played with the purebreds of the incestuous rock world. He's been on Saturday Night Live. He's opened for Dylan. And he's worked as a guitar technician for Shawn Colvin (though Colvin probably doesn't remember it). But Frequency isn't about all that who's who crap. This is a cleansing. It's a clearly talented musician intent on rediscovering what drew him to music long ago. It's an acoustic glide through space. Besides, I always thought that Natalie Merchant was cute.

- Che' Albert

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