REVIEW: Dave's True Story, Sex Without Bodies (Chesky)
- Patrick Carmosino
Dave's True Story makes a clever kind of jazz, almost designed to charm generation x-ers and the bunch of punks that preceded them. 'Cause you see, guitarist Dave Cantor and chanteuse Kelly Flint came from that gen-w bunch. They make smooth, cabaret jazz that definitely wouldn't sit too comfortably with the Kenny G set (unless said set thought that by listening, they were being way radical). Instead, Sex Without Bodies is the Trinity Sessions for the cappuccino set! Like the Cowboys Junkies classic, Sex... was recorded in a church, hence the perfectly suited reverb that wettens the sound.
Unlike the latter's dark, western obsessions, Sex...s tunes rely mostly on today's quintessential, thirty-something, cosmopolitan experiences. Written mostly by Cantor, the songs center mostly on the maturing perspectives of sex and romance, sometimes living in perfect harmony and sometimes at each others throats. Witness "Spasm", in which Flint coos about desires that could swallow you whole but later admits they're not the real thing,...just a spasm. On the title track, the author has discovered that virtual sex is so much easier that he/she may never go back to the real thing again. All this is sorted out in the warmth of a shuffle beat, late-60s Zombies-feelin' melody and warm vibes, mind you. But after all the ups and downs of the casual dating life, we get "Nirvana", which is probably one of the most charming denials of actually falling in love that one can come across. With only Cantor's guitar playing early-Style Council/EBTG, Wes Montgomery-inspired licks, Flint regretfully ponders I cant deny this stranger in my skin, I guess it's just nirvana has set in. Talk about a song custom-built for a girl I know on Mott Street!
And that goes to demonstrate who gets Sex Without Bodies and all too effectively. It achieves that downtown feel all too well. Most of the songs sport not only Flint's cooing and Cantor's kool guitar, but also stand-up bass, shuffle kit and bongoes. With its additional beatnik feel (although DTS dismisses all that in "Daddy-O"), it's no wonder why Dave's True Story also attracts the Vin Scelsa/Idiots Delight crowd who also fawned over the Washington Squares folk revival ethic of the late 80s. The only wrong move made which I cant stand, but the mentioned crowds will probably love is DTS' take on "Walk On The Wildside". Yes, it is one more thing that Sex Without Bodies has in common with The Trinity Sessions (on which "Sweet Jane" was effectively blown apart and put back together), but it doesn't embellish on anything Lou Reed's original laid down and comes up short: best left for an encore. Other than that, Sex Without Bodies is a nice, comfy experience...for that warm fuzzy feeling inside.
Chesky Records can be contacted at PO Box 1268, New York, NY 10101.
