John Taglieri
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Joined: May 2009
Gender: Male 
Posts: 23
Location: East Rutherford, NJ
Karma: 0 |  | Detritus Newsletter/Blog Reviews LIVES!!
« Thread Started on Jul 3, 2009, 12:57am » | ![[Quote]](http://s2.images.proboards.com/buttons/quote.gif "[Quote]") |
JOHN TAGLIERI - LIVES (B+) Leap Dog Music/danaCreative, 2009
8 tracks, RT: 25:35
[ http://www.JohnTaglieri.com/ ]
[ http://www.myspace.com/johntaglierimusic ]
[ http://www.facebook.com/people/John_Taglieri/508614900 ]
[ http://www.reverbnation.com/johntaglieri ]
[ http://www.TheLivesProject.com/ ]
[ http://www.leapdogmusic.com/ ]
[ http://www.danacreative.com/ ]
Singer/guitarist/mastermind John Taglieri and guitarist Brad Whitley have quite the project going on here. LIVES is the first installment of the "Lives Project," a storyline that's expected to include four six-song E.P.s, accompanying/complementing books/graphic novels, and online presences for the two main characters. Pretty ambitious, no?
Well, if this first volume is any indication I believe the guys are up
to the task. Shave off two minutes' worth of "carnival barker" intros and outros, and this release is comprised of six nice, concise power pop/rock tracks. On the rockier, more up-beat side, "Ferris Wheel" comes off like a bouncy, glammy mix of Cheap Trick and the Beatles; "Breathe" is 100% catchy modern pop; and "Make A Mistake With Me" is an aw-shucks, happy-go-lucky bounder that will put a smile on your face, guaranteed. On the other hand, "The Lives Of Splattered Flies" has some sweet moments and strikes me as a more serious, non-goofy Green Day song; "With You I Want To Be" (I think Yoda wrote this one) is an intriguing, stringed, full-band ballad with a Queen-like climax; and the bittersweet "Farewell" is like good ol' Billy Joel beer-waving song that says "good-bye...for now?" Good stuff all the way around, musically, except sometimes it seems the drums are mixed too loud.
As far as the book is concerned, I must admit up front that when I do read it's usually sci-fi or fantasy, so contemporary relationship stories aren't exactly in my wheelhouse, so to speak. But I found the near 80-page story (written by Gil Gonzalez) to be breezy, engaging, and entertaining, if a bit heavy on the exposition in the first two chapters where we meet Max and Cate. The former is a bartender who was raised by a hard-ass military man, and the latter is a carefree artist with a number of bad relationships under her belt. They meet by chance and agree to travel cross-country, from the East Coast to San Diego;
along they way they fall in love, hit some bumps in the proverbial road, and...I can't give it away now can I? There are some funny and poignant exchanges between the two characters, an in-joke about a Taglieri live show, a Simon Cowell name-drop, and some serious product placement for Apple. (Like they need it.) Taglieri, Whitley, and Gonzalez do a great job of keeping the six main songs and the book's six chapters -- all named alike -- aligned.
Regarding the "extras" like the Web site and characters online, regrettably I haven't had time to investigate all that. If you're curious keep an eye out for "MrLuckyMax" and "CateTries" on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Blogspot. The remaining installments of the project are due in October, April 2010, and October 2010. Give LIVES a shot -- you might get hooked.
- Tim Wadzinski (tsw512@yahoo.com)
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laureen
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Joined: Jul 2009
Gender: Female 
Posts: 3
Karma: 0 | | Re: Detritus Newsletter/Blog Reviews LIVES!!
« Reply #1 on Jul 7, 2009, 11:43am » | |
Another great review! Sweet!
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