Dave Vargo – Ghost Towns
This artist hails from NJ — musical promised land of Frank & Nancy Sinatra, Paul Simon, Frankie Valli, Billy Falcon (“Heaven’s Highest Hill”), Bon Jovi, Whitney Houston & some other guy who’s a singer-songwriter from Long Branch, NJ. But unlike that majority, Dave Vargo (guitar/lead vocals) leans more toward the Americana-country rock & folk pavilions. I like him because he places importance on lyrics as much as playing an instrument & singing. It takes skill to write good lyrics, tell a story & make sense of something. Some musicians know this, especially since Bob Dylan started writing songs that addressed serious themes other than “papa oom mow mow.”
There are 12 apparitions in Dave’s Ghost Towns (Dropped March 27/Independent/44:27), his 4th album. It starts with the plodding “Anything At All,” & while the word “plodding” can sound like a dig, it isn’t. It has a predatory guitar approach, gritty Vargo vocal & provides a well-done atmosphere. But it doesn’t stop there. “Ghost Town” slinks in with a highly stylized arrangement & stands out distinctively. It has the fascinating storytelling circuitry that Shane McGowan used with The Pogues.
A little closer to commerciality is “A New Life,” which chugs along like a country rocker that artists like Eddie Rabbit, Marty Stuart & Rocky Burnette spiced up their tunes with. Dave manages to keep his style motivated without losing traction. He’s a hard swinger, well defined & everything from the guitar soloing to his voice is his signature. This guy is from New Jersey.
Dave cruises by the mainstream, commercial sweetness of repetitive tedium, but Dave never falls victim or loses footing. He’s far too skillful. The majority of the material is well-thought-out. Even the songs I don’t highlight have something to recommend them. What Dave has mastered is keeping his rock songs & themes anchored to a galloping tempo. The band is as tight as a vacuum-sealed jar of Gefilte fish. “Not So Young” is an infectious piece, unvarnished but sanded smooth & natural. It has a great groove & a heavy beat with precise guitars.
The song “Hard” is a mature rock ballad with a semi-David Gilmour guitar take that keeps it interesting. Flying close to the commercial sun is “Those Little Things” & “Where It Started” — despite the hooks & basics of the pieces, Vargo wisely pulls it off the way Canada’s Tom Wilson of Junkhouse (“Shine”) would. Dave Vargo is one of the good ones. And I thought they were extinct.
Highlights – “Anything At All,” “Ghost Town,” “A New Life,” “Tales To Tell,” “Not So Young,” “Hard,” “Those Little Things” & “Where It Started.”
Musicians – Tim Pannella (drums), Todd Lanka (bass) & Danielle Marrone (bgv).
Color image courtesy of Dave’s Facebook. CD @ Apple Music + https://davevargomusic.com/