Keith Russo
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My new favorite album !
I love my hair, ........ and this album comes in a very close second.
From soup to nuts, this project is a winner. Well written, executed, and recorded, this two CD set has just become my new favorite album.
This project features the vocals of Andy Schlee who is one of the nicest, most complacent individuals I personally know. His dry sense of humor and dead pan demeanor is the perfect disguise for his very explosive talent. It's kind of like Clark Kent running cover for Superman. I guess that's why I was soooooo blown away when I finally got to hear "Reds" new release.
Vocals: Andy's extremely commercial vocal instrument also hosts a very textured acoustical characteristic. Much like recordings of an acoustic guitar with the inherent sound of the fingers sliding across the fret board, Andy's singing voice also reveals that very natural, very real quality. Of course, that signature quality would be all but lost if it wasn't effectively captured and exploited by Andy's partner, Bob Kimmel, ( recording engineer and drummer ). In a word, "Bob gets it", ( three words, actually ). I've known Bob for so long that I sometimes forget how effective a recording engineer he is. A lot of engineers would have over produced the hell out of this project, but Bob selectively over produced critical areas. Like for instance, the harmonies on certain tracks were beautifully compressed, gated, and somewhat wet. I actually thought I heard a damn Mellotron a few times. Conversely, within some of the other tracks the more natural vocal qualities were allowed to dominate which in turn, helped to create an entirely different tapestry. Couple the aforementioned with a lot of very beautifully arranged background harmonies, and the magic seems to last forever. Different vocal styles, voicing, mic techniques, along with all kinds of detectible performance attitudes, and what you'll end up with is a collection of songs, each one wonderfully different from the last.
Funny, but a lot of great bands produce a signature sound or style that when breached, tends to disappoint me. For example, my personal taste in music while growing up gravitated towards horn bands like Tower of Power. They produced that unmistakable David Garibaldi and "Rocco" Prestia fuck pocket that in my opinion was like Moses parting the Red Sea. Epic. Unfortunately they always seemed to throw in a couple ballads as well that were noticeable not their strong suit. Well, unlike Tower, Andy and Bob very successfully transcended through multiple styles, each of which appeared while listening to be their own personal brand or signature style. I mean, just when I thought I had a handle on what kind of album this was, they took yet another turn and I instantly became just as impressed with the new style and direction. Few can pull this magnitude of diversity off but Andy and Bob did it in spades.
In closing I would have to say that together, Andy and Bob have created one of my all time favorite recording projects. If this CD was toilet paper, it would definitely be Charmin !
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Bill Reed
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Another Great album from the New Jersey Band " Red "
This is a GREAT CD from Red. This is one of those albums you just push play and you never stop listening ! Unbelievably good sound quality , and great lyrics, performed by some awesome musicians. Songs like, " The Yellow House ", " In Vino Veritas ", and " Magnetic North " will make you glad to own headphones ! It will leave you with goosebumps ! All the while they still give you a hard edge on songs like " Digging Holes ", and " Wasted " ! It took a long time to follow up their first killer album " Nothing Means Anything " but it was well worth the wait. Hope I get to see these guys perform this music live soon !
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Dave Hartl
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#2 on my 2012 Top 10 most influential CDs List
My friend Bob Kimmel is a drummer and engineer that grounded a lot of dance-oriented bands in Atlantic City before I left the area in 1995. He’s kept it up and I knew one of his projects was a band called Red, helmed by singer/ songwriter Andy Schlee. Last spring he sent out a general email announcing a new release. He’s sent me a Christmas card every year for 20 years, I’ve always enjoyed his playing, he engineered the last live session I did in preparation of a new CD project, and has remained a real friend over the years, so I figured it was about time I sat down and listened to what he was up to. I went over to CDBaby (my own choice for distributor as well) and bought this disc, which arrived days later.
This is one of the pleasantest surprises I’ve had in years. Everyone I play it for likes it and feels it’s a great hybrid between British pop of decades past and modern sensibilities. The production is top notch, well-produced without being intrusive to the material, but using effects to give a hint of psychedelia to the proceedings but never obscuring the lyrics. Andy Schlee does it all himself with help on drums by Bob, female vocals by Patty Balbo, and some help on bass by other friends of mine from the Jersey shore. Everytime my “shuffle” function found one of the tracks on this album I stopped and said, “Who the hell is this?” and was always surprised to see Red on the playlist. The music sounds like other groups (it’s revealing that the only cover on the 2 discs is the Beatles’ “Help”) but has a character of its own. Mr. Schlee, I don’t know you but I’d like to meet you. Bob K, congrats on being an integral part of this, and thanks for letting me know about it. All I know is that Red deserves a whole lot more exposure and success but, I’m afraid, is playing music too thoughtful and eclectic for the bland mass market that has no slot to pigeon-hole them into. When I play this for people without saying what it is, no one can guess that it’s basically a one-man show from a local artist in South Jersey. Do yourself a favor and give a listen, this is power pop for intelligent adults, one of the rarest forms of music extant today!
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