REVIEW: Pete Droge, Spacey And Shakin (57 Records/Epic)
- Bill Holmes
Pete Droge continues to shine with his latest release, and although there's nothing here to capture programmer's ears like "If You Don't Love Me I'll Kill Myself", there's southern soul rock a plenty for those of us with two good ones.
Droge still sounds uncannily like Tom Petty, and it wouldn't be unfair to compare some of his vibe to early Heartbreakers stuff. Hell, Tom Petty looked no further than The Byrds for inspiration, and if you can't sift "Eight Miles High" out of "Evan's Radio" you're not doing your homework. There's almost a psychedelic flavor to many of the tracks here, keyboards helping to shape the aural essence of the title track and "Eyes On The Ceiling". But the straight ahead rockers like "Motorkid" and the slower, blues-tinged tracks like "I Want To Go Away" and "Walking By My Side" are equally effective. The band is flexible and tasty throughout, with guitarist Pete Stroud's textural work a standout. And you can be sure producer Brendan O'Brien did yeoman work on both sides of the studio glass.
Unless you live in an area blessed by wide bandwidth radio, you're probably not going to hear this unless you grab your own copy or catch the band on tour. That's not Pete's fault. Give a listen to an artist who just keeps getting better. (And a bonus for those of you with enhanced CDROM capabilities - videos galore!)
