Long-time Jersey Short fave, folk singer-songwriter Pat Guadagno's latest album goes the opposite direction of original songs, paying homage to 60s-era covers. Pat is known to do covers during his live performances but this time he committed to this as it hinges on why he got into music in the first place. Guadagno has appropriately been branded as a troubadour which matches perfectly in my mind with what I hear. His new album, 1964 perfectly aligns with his purpose when he says:
There is no message or theme here; just an homage to the year magic happened and a musical renaissance ensued.
It's on me that I always think about the '60s as a revolutionary period because of the Vietnam War which is what that era is framed with and I did seem to try to confirm this with Pat during our interview you'll find at the end of this article. In much the same way, Pat also puts together Bob Fest (a festival tribute to Bob Dylan) every year, if you want to talk about covers. He does these for the same reason I quoted. This is very much the same way I connected to the music I heard when I was a kid, as most have, with no context or message to absorb other than great melodies of greater songs. In my review, I'll pull out the tracks I'm familiar with and talk a bit about them but, before we get all up in that...
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Pat & I Go Back To '1964'
I share some of my experiences with Pat on which of these songs I recall hearing when I was a kid. My dad managed a fast-food joint where they would pump some of this music through the speakers. I heard a lot of it in the car too. My dad was also a fan of the Beatles, who wasn't or isn't even today, right? Well, I'm really not that much of a fan of a successful second attempt at a British invasion on our shores, right? But the way Guadagno performs and sings "And I Love Her", attests to how well-written and evergreen their songs are.
"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" seems a much bigger song than I remember Gerry and the Pacemakers' original with the sax accompaniment. Frank Sabo and Guadagno do the late Everly Bros justice with their cover of "Let It Be Me". This version is far more heart-wrenchingly emotional to hear than the original when they sing the first note. So much emotion gushes out in that moment that it could bring the listener to their knees. Not me of course. Luckily I was sitting down for it.
Then we get to "Til There Was You" and I think to myself, "If beetles were flies, but they're not. They're beetles." Then I think about how cool beetles actually are as opposed to flies. You kill flies, not beetles. What I'm saying is that I'm starting to build some rationale to like the Beatles more than I do and that this song is a delight to hear when Pat does it. Also, would a British invasion led by a band called the Flies have been as successful? Seems that they only had one hit and their antics were as acceptable as the Beatles. Yep, the career-span to the lifespan of a fly.
ADAM RANDY "DON'T PLAY", "ANOTHER SONG" (REVIEW & INTERVIEW)
STAN SNOW 'INTO THE GREAT BEYOND' (REVIEW)
FROM EARWORMS TO DEEP CUTS, CHANDRA NAIR'S SINGLES HAVE PLENTY
ERIC ANDERS & MARK O'BITZ, 'ANSWERS BELIE' (REVIEW / INTERVIEW WITH ERIC ANDERS)
Then there's a favorite, "House Of The Rising Sun," a song that has always haunted the charts. We talk a bit about it in our interview, and the further back we go to the origins of this song, the more embedded in its own legend it is. One might conclude that this song didn't even originate in America, but then things get muddy when you get there. This is a song worthy of a traveling troubadour. But never mind "Made In America" because we're reminded of the British invasion again, with "Because" by the Dave Clark Five who is credited with being the head of the British bayonet that allowed the Beatles to blitz on through. It's not on you Pat, the Fab Four were already dug into America's ear before we knew it.
All kidding aside, the U.S. was already entrenched in the Vietnam War for 10 years, and protest songs and activism were all the rage by this point. There are some tracks on here that speak to that activism but, we're getting a variety of songs about relationships too. "I Only Want To Be With You" put Dusty Springfield on the charts as one of these songs, that has a '50s pop quality to it. "She Loves You" is another Beatles hit that's very stripped down as opposed to the other tracks. Guadagno's guitar playing technique is immaculate and one of the reasons Pat is a master. Aside from the song itself, it's what makes this cover so good. Now, I say what I've been holding back this entire review, he's one of two people who have that beautiful voice, the other one being Freddy Fender.
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Interview with Pat Guadagno
Also to mention that Pat opened the Giants vs. Cowboys game with the Star-Spangled Banner in 2012.
Websites:
Official Website: [//WWW.PatGuadagno.com]WWW.PatGuadagno.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GuadagnoPat
Apple: Pat Guadagno on Apple Music
Spotify: Pat Guadagno | Spotify
Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/EvoTD
YouTube Channel: Pat Guadagno - YouTube
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