GB Leighton – Tangerine
After 3 decades in business, GB Leighton sautés their musical showcase with recipes taken from the cookbooks of many artists. They keep it enlivened expressively with their own brand of rock n’ roll with a dash of country originality & explore the bittersweet nature of relationships. Brian Leighton (lead vocals/guitars) is a storyteller with ingredients that keep the flavor bearable for the working class who must navigate the bumps in life’s road…every day.
The 12 original songs that are squeezed from Tangerine (Drops May 29/Moonsong Records/44:51) were produced by Kevin Bowe (bass) & Brian Leighton. On first listen, I’m impressed with the brightness of Leighton’s tunes. Despite his country leanings, the pop inflection here has R&R jubilance. I find him accessible the same way as artists such as the late Grant McLennan (The Go-Betweens), Russ Tolman (“Marla Jane”) & Bobby Sutliff (“Same Way Tomorrow”). He has good melodies & clever lyrics.
There are moments when GB Leighton cruises too closely to the pop sun (“We Could Run”), but he never compromises his stylistic songwriting identity. This one slices through the sweet bread of Bon Jovi & Dwight Twilley, but hey, they sold records. It’s commercially tight with mainstream spirit. With “Waiting For Never,” Leighton allows the mercury to climb slightly in the glass tube the way Johnny Average did (“Thermostat”) & 1979’s AKA Max Demian (“Havin’ a Good Day”). Obscure? Yeah, to some, but these songs were solid, nonetheless. Songs that aren’t cupcakes. Not yodels or cookies. No, no. These songs are cream puffs, marble-topped sugar Napoleons.
Leighton does musically what I do at flea markets…look for handwritten recipe journals, written by grandmothers in 1920 & forgotten. What delicious things I discovered in its yellow pages. GB Leighton does this with music. Every tune isn’t a statement but a style – “The One You Find” is pure & wonderful with the banjo picking, martial drumbeats. The tune can delete stress as you dance with a broom through your kitchen.
“You Better Not Run” with chiming guitar-catchiness & consistent pop ingeniousness as 1982’s The Clocks (the entire LP — one infectious song after another). This is the magical wand Leighton wields in his songs. Country tint? Yes. R&R? Certainly. But all with pop brilliance.
The closest he comes to Springsteen is “Just Be Good Today.” A nice, gritty tune with perfection to form. The Mellencamp comparisons probably are a result of “Something Good,” that’s deliciously Mellencamp. But that’s where the comparisons with these artists end. Leighton has his own musical field to plow, & he certainly does it well.
Highlights – “Tangerine,” “Never Have To Worry About Me Again,” “Goodbye Valentine,” “Waiting For Never,” “The One You Find,” “You Better Not Run,” & “Just Be Good Today.”
Musicians – Ryan Inselman & Mike Chaput (drums), Smokey D & Tommy Barbarella (piano/organ) & Adam Daniel (B3 organ).
B&W image courtesy of GB Leighton’s website. CD @ https://gbleighton.com/track/4693984/tangerine