The Long-Awaited Rick Monroe EP: “Gypsy Soul”

June 20, 2017; Nashville, TN.  My man Rick and the band present six tunes that will linger in your musical mind long after you turn your player off. If you remember, I covered his performance in Ladson, South Carolina at the “Honky Tonk Saloon” last February (I still can’t believe there is really a venue with that name! lol)  This CD sampler dropped last month.  I mentioned to Rick that, since I do not have a CD player in my new apartment, that I could only review it while driving in the car and he said the trips might have to be short because it is an “EP”. you know what?  I took many  pleasurable “short trips” to listen again and again…

Here are the tracks. In reverse order, they are:

The bluesy and soulful with Memphis-like horns, “Rage On”; a Country-rocker, the first one I would play on my ‘Pajama Bar’ radio show, “Moment Like This”; a great title song, “Gypsy Soul”; the mid-tempo with sexy-delicious lyrics, “Ease On Down”; another C-Rocker (rock-her) in “Better” and his romantic smash from the winter of 2017, “This Side of You”.

I dig the many metaphors on “Better”!  “She’s like that first sip of coffee/that first drag on a cigarette…”  Great word-pictures! I once had one whose kiss was “like that first sip of an ice-cold Heineken” lol

Cut four is the title track, “Gypsy Soul” and some of those lyrics could be part of my personal theme song; I really identify with it! No non-rebels need apply.

From one “Gypsy Soul” to another, I believe, as a man who is nomadic as a “gypsy”, if you ask some of my peers who don’t know I know how they feel about me, there is certainly nothing wrong with that theme nor this diverse set of songs encompassing it.  I do want to mention the late, great Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions who sang the R&B hit, “Gypsy Woman” because of the title and lyrical neighborhood point of reference herein.

While Rick Monroe’s core audience is Country music, he surly can cross over into other genres.

This is a five-acoustic guitar EP!  I rage that you bring on the full album, Rick! Safe travels, Pioneer.  Cheers.

(I’ll update the video when he releases the feature-length scenes, K?)

Please leave your comments! Thank you.

(be sure to check out the mothership, https://achilliad.wordpress.com)

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Both Sides of Rick Monroe Music – “This Side Of You” – Recorded and “Live!” Nu Music Revu!

It took a few days, but now this song is officially another “tune-wedgie” that plays as added to my mental jukebox rotation of hits.

“Gypsy Soul” is the forthcoming new album by the amazingly well-traveled for such a youngster, Rick Monroe, who should be a diplomatic Ambassador, having just read a lot of his biography. Maybe it is a future career move, but for now he happily calls Nashville, Tennessee his home.

I saw Rick Monroe for the first time, when he arrived from the behind the stage entrance of the club and when he recognized me, I saw in the smile that broadened his face a very engaging, friendly and approachable rising star.  It was as if we were old acquaintances. I instantly got the feeling that he and I could have kicked it about music and radio for hours, but he had only moments before he had to take the stage; maybe next time, for that conversation and a more in-depth interview; so we had one of his band mates take a couple photos!

When I mentioned reading about the new album, he talked glowingly about his co-producers, Jason Duke and Ryan Griffin, and the genesis of the current hit single, “This Side of You”, which he played early during his first set and some of which I caught on video (below).  I think that “This Side Of You” could be used as background theme during the love-making scenes of the recent movie, “Deepwater Horizon”!

Rick Monroe has a good, self-deprecating stage-presence and he kept the songs moving without a whole lot of endless “blah-blah-blah” between selections.  The venue’s sound was not the best sometimes.  I could not understand some of his segue way between songs comments often and maybe that was due to whoever was mixing his sound from the DJ booth or maybe it was more tuned for the line dancing warm-up hour’s clientele?

While Rick commands the center-stage, his three other men support the sound without upstaging him.  They seemed in-sync and well rehearsed without sounding stilted. As a former drummer, I found his a very solid and tight percussionist. They displayed good stage action and choreography spontaneously.

Suddenly, my own audience interaction is interrrupted as apparently some radio station promotion prize winners invade the VIP with me. I leave the area to shoot more Rick Monroe video.  He leaves stage at one point to briefly mingle and orchestrate amongst the crowd without missing a beat.  I almost missed it, having glanced away to the radio contest winners.  Speaking of “radio”, “This Side of You” is His set featured an assorted a mix of southern rock and folksy blues-style Country Pop, which really impressed me when they surprised my ears by covering one of my all time Allman Brothers favorites from 1970, “Midnight Rider”. Well done!

Rick plays a Framus acoustic guitar, whose design feature makes its body look bigger than most I used to see in Nashville!  Is this true or just my vision?

As an aside, from being in the din of the Saloon that night, I must reiterate that sometimes we speak the same language, yet have to slow-down to really listen to each other (especially with loud music playing in the background),  in order to understand across regional spoken colloquialisms and accents.

Thank you again and major props to Martha Moore, who set me up with this opportunity and also praise God for placing me in the area at this time.

Major Props to his Manger, Andrea and Bob who managed the Saloon that night and to the whole din of Honky Tonk Saloon (that is really the name of the place!), in Ladson, South Carolina, at the end of February in 2017. Who knew, a year ago, I would be in Charleston, just twenty minutes from one of SoMuchMooremedia’s artists in order to cover this event??!  I saw everything from Line Dancing, a “Billy Jack” lookalike to guys in Hells Angels jackets representing states all over the USA while I waited meeting the positive and country-cool Rick Monroe.  I would love to add the physical CD of this album to my collection when it drops.

Here is a studio preview that runs about the same length as my live shot, lol

I rate “This Side Of You” with four, slow-dancin’ “geetars”.  

 

(Please check out my other, random about anything blog, http://www.achilliad.wordpress.com)