Monday, July 08, 2019

Joe & Mike Nolte-Joe 'N' Mike

The recording made it across the Mohave and Sonoran Deserts the other 110 degree day and I have to declare this is one of the finest in the Nolte canon. I don't know of the songs' initial inceptions, but it's almost like they were preordained to be recorded and heard acoustically. It's remarkable to hear the topical, yet universal and timeless "Difference" in new shadings. The pointed line about "Some People Left L.A, Some People Joined the Rockabilly Trade" really stands out in almost a gravelly "Eve of Destruction" way. The entire epic hinges upon some outstanding guitar playing. Next up, is my favorite song on the disc "Someday I''ll Have You." Promising lyrics ride atop jaunty and sparkling guitars before curving along some coasts of gorgeous harmonies in-route to a Beatlesque finale. "Everywhere" reminds me of an early Fairport Convention song transfigured over some of that jingle-jangle galore of the Searchers' "When you Walk in a Room" along with a nod to the Rooftop Singers' "Walk Right In." Also be ready for the nice rural route solo ambling through the aforementioned number. The harmonies are nailed on "The Other Side" and like "Difference"-it's illuminating to hear in an acoustic setting. "Day Girl" starts off with a standout intro and had me turning my head because the verses reminded of "Somebody to Love" by Jefferson Airplane. Mike Nolte''s "A Part of Your Soul" (Pallbearer) musically recalls Preflyte Byrds and "Onie" by the Electric Prunes resulting in one of the album's finest moments. "Nearly Dead" unfurls in pure emotional honesty and sounds like it was written during their "Gin and Innuendos" mid-'90s era-not the 1977 copyright. I won''t spoil the ending. Another seemingly anachronistic song follows in the form of "You Walk into a Room" which was supposedly inscribed in '89 or '90, but sounds like it could have had its lyrical origins switched-on from Joe's progressive band era of the Power. Does anyone else hear a brief bit of "Light My Fire" in "It All Comes Down"? August is the cruelest month here in the Southwest, but this stripped-down acoustic album (recorded in April of 2003) delivers some previously buried treasures from their South Bay shores while confronting the mirages along the way.