Rick Brantley
Prize Fight Lover Soul Auctioneer
Carnival Recording Company
by Al Kaufman
It’s always good to set attainable goals. Rick Brantley realizes that in his song "Peace On Earth," when he spits out, "I don’t want peace on earth/ I just want to go home." But rest assured that whatever it is this Georgia native wants, he’s going to let you know about it with all the passion and intensity of a tasmanian devil that hasn’t eaten in weeks. On his debut CD, Brantley covers the typical rock terrain of anger and disillusionment with just a glimmer of hope, yet, like a teenage girl that has developed her first crush, Brantley acts as if he is the first person in the world to have identified such emotions. All six cuts on here are anthems; loud, intense anthems. Imagine a slighly less funky Black Crows. The horns at the beginning of Living on the Outside" add a nice sleazy touch, reminiscent of the horns at the beginning of Joe Cocker’s version of Randy Newman’s "You Can Leave Your Hat On." Max Abrams also offers a grooving sax solo on "Blue Bandana," but the rest of this is straight ahead rock and roll, led by Brantley’s raspy wails and power chords.
Rick Brantley holds his CD release party (with Cory Crowder and Nic Cowen) at Vinyl on Saturday, June 21. 9 pm $6/$8 door.
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