L.A. Moore – Snappy Comeback
L.A. Moore has a new fast paced blues and folk rock album Snappy Comeback. In L.A.’s words, Snappy Comeback harkens back to a simpler time. A time where we celebrate our friends past and present. A time with less technology. A time for appreciation of the things that really matter.” Listening to the songs on this album, friendship, nostalgia, and joy in the simpler things really do take center stage.
“Withlacoochee Mama” starts off the album about a gal driving a souped up Chevy and a sexy story with bluesy style. “The Simple Things” has double vocals and a more heartland rock feel and pedal steel guitar as the song expresses imagery like “a full moon in a starry night / a newborn child / I’m thankful every day for the simple things that come my way. We’re all wound up and full of fear / we’ve lost the things that mean the most.” There’s a repetition in the guitar as the message unfurls. “Hiroshima” is folk style song about a visit to the historic site and its horrors, and ends with a wish for war to end. This song could have connected the listener with the horrors of Hiroshima more powerfully with a more vulnerable touch – a slower pace or a more touching instrumental sound or lyric lines, if that was L.A’s intention. It’s okay to let everybody’s guard down, within this genre especially.
“Fragments” is a little bit of a Spanish influenced song with accordion. Moore captures memories and tears after a loss, and the pace and the imagery really nail the concept of fragmentation here. The uillean pipes are a real standout on “Cross the Line” and more of them elsewhere would be a great asset. This is a tribute to someone who has passed on. If this same song were presented at a slower tempo with the same guitar melody it could make the audience cry. The lyrics and the consideration of mortality are important and it makes a nice send-off. “Higher Ground” is a philosophical contemplation that pairs well with the previous song and these two songs are really the centerpiece of the album “we can live among the stars if we choose to reach that far.” If I were ordering the album I would have put those two songs first.
L.A. Moore has showcased a range from bluesy to folksy and Mex-Western too in Snappy Comeback. The songs generally take on an uptempo approach while processing wishes for the simpler things from times gone by. Listen to some great ideas and their skilled execution on songs like “Higher Ground” in particular. http://www.lamooremusic.com
Musicians on the album are L.A. Moore on vocals, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar; TJ Weger on pedal steel, lap steel, dobro, ukulele and mandolin; Stephen Paul Connelly on pedal steel, lap steel, keyboards and bass; Fil Pate on acoustic guitar and mandolin; Sam Farmer on drums; Paul Cataldo and Rita Cee on backing vocals; Damiano D.J. on accordion on “Fragments”; Petricio Penin on uillean pipes on “Crossing the Line”; and the song “Turn It Off” is Paul Cataldo on electric guitar; John Stone on bass; and Tim Conway on drums.
This album was produced by Stephen Paul Connelly and L.A. Moore; recorded at Zen Studios OG in St. Petersburg Florida; and recorded, mixed and mastered by Stephen Paul Connelly.