REVIEW: Cravin' Melon, The Great Procrastinator (Seedless)
- Bob Gajarsky
When Cravin' Melon made the leap from indie world to major-label, they could be excused if they thought life might be just a tad bit easier. After all, touring up and down the southeast had been the ticket for Hootie and the Blowfish to launch to superstardom.
But when the band's full length major-label debut Red Clay Harvest didn't generate multi-million album sales, and Mercury became part of a giant corporate merger, things looked bleak. But when the major label life was over, Cravin' Melon did something many other bands don't.
They survived.
So, with new member Gary Greene (former percussion player for Hootie) in tow, Cravin' Melon has returned to indieland. Their sound hasn't significantly changed - from Where I Wanna Be to Red Harvest Moon and now on The Great Procrastinator - which is a good thing. It shows the band still can write a catchy, infectious Southern pop-rock tune with the best of them.
The title track and "Tied To The Wheel" rival the infectiousness of their biggest sing-along songs such as "Sweet Tea" and "Come Undone", and the guitar riff in "Beautiful Thing" is (unknowingly, I'm sure) just half-a-step away from that in Prince's "When You Were Mine". Southern fried funk, anyone?
And if you go see the band live, make sure you're not wearing flammable clothing during "Silk Sunflowers" - it's just begging for the lighters to come out. While looking out, the laid-back love song "Right There In Front of Me" tugs at the heartstrings, while NOT being a ballad. Thank goodness...
The Great Procrastinator is a wonderful return from the leaders in Southern pop-rock, and proves that the strong not only survive, but flourish.
For further information, check out the band's website at http://www.melonpatch.com
