I came
across George Cole when Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong tweeted a link to
Cole's song "Riverside Drive" this week. I was charmed with
it and Cols' other songs. The music was also a nice counterpoint to my other
review, so Cole gets the Friday spot.
I am
including a link to his Wikipedia entry, because there is a broad and varied
musical history there:
My
listening centered on the Soundcloud page and the Youtube videos. Based on
that, elements that stood out included a sound that was both retro and fresh
(reminding me a bit of Foxboro Hot Tubs) and the clarinet, bringing to mind
Benny Goodman. There is good use of the tall bass. That gives the first
impression - this is delightful and should be danced to (some waltz and maybe
some quickstep).
On the
second time through I was really struck by the guitar. The delicacy and
intricacy initially made me think of Spanish guitar, but I think it is more
reasonable to see some influence from Django Reinhardt. Based on Cole's
involvement with a festival honoring Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli, that may
be the most logical inference, other than assuming there has been exposure to
and absorption of a lot of music. Harry Connick Jr. fans would probably enjoy,
but the potential audience should go far beyond that.
So this was
a really good find. I owe Billie Joe. It makes future listening and exploring
probable, and it's nice to know there is a lot to work with.
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