Bruce Sudano – Talkin’ Ugly Truth, Tellin’ Pretty Lies
This is Brooklyn-born Bruce Sudano’s 9th CD with 8-cuts bestowed upon Talkin’ Ugly Truth, Tellin’ Pretty Lies (Purple Heart/Drops March 1). Produced with Ken Lewis (drum, synth & bass programming/bass) except for one lone track (“Under the Gun”) recorded in L.A. & produced by Randy Ray Mitchell (guitar).
Sudano started his career in 1968 with a one-hit wonder band on Billboard — Alive ‘n Kicking & scored a great single with the Tommy James’ penned “Tighter, Tighter,” (1970) on the Roulette label. Bruce went on to found Brooklyn Dreams & then started writing songs that found chart success with other artists.
The album opens with “Better Than This,” & Bruce sings in narrative style with a 17-year-old voice. He’s got a good Tom Waits tilt to his lyric without the growl. Doesn’t matter because Bruce seems more focused on the song’s atmosphere than a mere melodic hook. It sounds like he’s singing as he strolls down Main Street alone on a humid summer night, filter-less cigarette, singing to his reflection in the store windows. He succeeds in vocalizing with angst but conveys an inch of optimism as he walks.
Bruce doesn’t emote with a commercial attraction or mainstream charm. The songs are indeed catchy but with a seriousness to it. On the first track he’s a teenager but on “Make the World Go Away,” he’s more like a middle-aged frustrated laborer sitting alone in a fluorescent-lit kitchen late at night with a can of beer, a pack of smokes & the distant funk of an instrumental tune from another floor — with a chorus of neighbors who sing his lonely man song with him. If a song can conjure images — Bruce Sudano must be succeeding (especially with people who have imaginations).
A nice, narrated ballad with descriptive words pours from Sudano’s cognac glass with “Two Bleeding Hearts,” – an exceptional tune as a heartfelt duet featuring Valerie Simpson (piano/vocals). Their vocal contrast is like dark chocolate with salty potato chips.
A brisk walk-through Tom Waits balladry but with a Dr. John tonality & Bruce skitters through a dark after-hours alley where cats are not the only thing watching from the shadows. “How’d You Get Here,” has a pinch of creepiness mixed with the beauty of the muted trumpet.
If you like short stories in your songs that may even poke at your memories – Sudano will move the old carpets, & cardboard boxes & sweep the dust away for you. Pour the cognac slowly.
Highlights – “Better Than This,” “Make the World Go Away,” “Two Bleeding Hearts,” “How’d You Get Here” & “Talkin’ Ugly Truth, Tellin’ Pretty Lies.”
Musicians – Bruce (acoustic & electric guitar/synth/organ), Jonathan Grant Berlin (guitar), Kevin McCormick & Antar Goodwin (bass), Dylan Wissing & James Cruce (drums/percussion), Markus Lauer (organ), Danny Flam & NY Brass (horns) & Irene Blackman (bgv).
Color image courtesy: Amy Waters. CD @ https://www.brucesudano.com/
Bruce Sudano Essay – https://americanahighways.org/2020/05/31/essay-bruce-sudano-a-rambling-on-corona-time/ & https://americanahighways.org/2021/09/13/interview-bruce-sudano-looks-towards-the-dawn-with-ode-to-a-nightingale-ep/