OntheWilderSide

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEAq35TRG5M]

Ok, I promised you on September 13th a report on Alan Semerdjian’s new album.  I also promised you a ton of video of great LI musicians. We did get up Easy Anthem’s show ending drum circle; and Jeff Stein’s The Time Was Right; Rebirth; and To See You Again (w/ Sonny Meadows).   But there are still a lot more videos in the hopper.

When Alan handed me the album, he said in a knowing way “I think you’ll really like this.”  Now Alan is well-known on the eastern seaboard as an accomplished singer-songwriter (and poet) who is very supportive of the arts community.  But I sense he knew that as much as I love our local singer-songwriters, I like to mix it up with some harder stuff.

Alan must have known because this album delivers on that.  The first song Your Love teases with the singer-songerwriter ting-ting for a bar or two before it stakes out a full-band Amerciana sound worthy of the Jayhawks or Wilco.  Don’t think that Alan sits back on one groove.  It is quickly followed up by I Can’t Tell You How just in case you still thought you were in the coffeehouse. And just when you think he’s slipping back into singer-songwriter mode, Alan drops a Grunge-worthy twist.  The  album is a sonic and emotional roller-coaster ride that’ll make you want to buy a Pay-One-Price bracelet to ride to your heart’s content.

This album is so aptly named.  “Big Beauty” is such an Alan phrase.  The album is Beautifully written, performed and produced.  It is Alan writ Big.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxE1yS2o-qU&feature=player_profilepage]

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