|
Like the Classic Certs commercial which goes "Two Mints In One", "Taking Sides", is also two distinct halves of music on one great album, with the first side bringing us a heavy dose of non-stop Blues Rockin' Slide Guitar, while the second side slows it down, but is no less intense, with a brilliant set of Vintage Soulful Blues and R&B, topped off with a Bonus Track consisting of a Cover of the Marvin Gaye/Ed Townsend classic song "Let's Get It On". All of the other 12 Tracks on "Taking Sides", are Originals written by Terry Quiett. In addition to the core trio of Terry Quiett (Guitar/Vocals), Rodney Baker (Drums), and Nathan Johnson (Bass), "Taking Sides", also features some really fine Guest Musicians which consisted of "Mississippi" Hal Reed (Harmonica), Scott Williams (Keys & Tenor Sax), Brad Turgeon (Trumpet), and Jordan Northerns (Trombone). "Taking Sides" was Produced by Terry Quiett and Blaise Burton, whom was part of the bands previous critically acclaimed 2011 release "Just my Luck", is also on board with this release in the capacity of Mixer & Mastering. Side A, yes I said Side A, as that is the way the Tracks are uniquely listed on the back cover, starts the ball rolling with "Come The Morning", a real ripper of an opener with Terry Quiett letting the fur fly on his Slide Guitar, with "Mississippi" Hal Reed hot on his heals with his great Harmonica playing. This beauty is a real Back Woods Style Stomper, with super solid work also from Rodney Baker and Nathan Johnson. "Nothing At All" continues the onslaught of not only Terry Quiett's Slide Guitar Wizardry, but also his great Vocals which are perfect sounding for this style of music. Fans of super high intensity Guitar work will love this Track as Quiett doesn't let up for long and not at all just after the halfway mark till the end of the Track. Scott Williams also got in on the action with great work on Keys. My favorite Track on the first half of the album was, without a doubt, Track 5 "Voodoo Queen". “Waiting for the voodoo queen to make her move and turn this heart to clay. Waiting for that conjurer to pull my pin and siphon off this pain". This beauty takes you on one hell of a ride, not letting you catch your your breath for more than a few seconds, before it hits you again with another non-stop wave of intense Heavy As Hell Blues Rock. Side B slows the show down a bit as it shows us that Terry Quiett is certainly not a One Trick Pony, as he offers up a fine set of Soulful Blues and Rhythm & Blues, in which he still manages to instill his magic both Vocally and Musically of which a few of my favorites were, Track 9 "Gimme Some", Track 12 "You Can't Come Back", and of course the closer, "Let's Get It On". "Gimme Some" is one that the first few seconds of reminded me a lot of the band Chicago and indeed we do get a nice subtle infusion of the Horns throughout courtesy of Brad Turgeon (Trumpet), and Jordan Northerns (Trombone). Of course Terry Quiett doesn't lay back for long before he once again offers up his brand of magic on Guitar, especially with a Solo around the halfway mark which lasts for over a minute. "You Can't Come Back", is certainly the rockiest Track on Side B. It is also the longest Track on the album clocking in a over eight minutes, of which, Terry Quiett once again lets the fur fly with his stellar Guitar work, of which he gives us a Slide Guitar clinic for over the last five minutes of this one. My top favorite Track of the second half of the album and close to my top favorite of the album. Wow... "Let's Get It On" was the only Cover and it seems that Terry Quiett may of indeed saved his best for last as he not only does justice to this classic, but actually goes beyond the call of duty, something I am sure Marvin Gaye would of been proud to listen to. A closer, in fact one of the best closers for an album I have heard in a good while. The Terry Quiett Band have certainly been making a name for themselves with their relentless touring and amazingly good releases, of which, "Taking Sides" may very well be one of, if not his very best, so far. 5***** for "Taking Sides"... Thoroughly Enjoyed and Highly Recommended... Review by John Vermilyea (Blues Underground Network) Listen To Samples Here... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/terryquiettband4 Additional Artist Info... http://terryquiettband.com/
|
You can certainly pick out the word Quiet in the Terry Quiett Band's name, but one thing you can't do, especially with their newest release, "Taking Sides", is say that it is Quiet, even in the least, as this powerhouse trio rips a whole new meaning to the words Blues Rock, especially on the first half of the album and when they finally come around to offering up some of their slower tunes, they still manage to do it in a way that speaks volumes.