Releasing today is John Velghe’s “Organ Donor Blues”.
I took an in depth listen at the title track. Here are my thoughts…
The song itself starts in nice and slow with a lonely guitar picked out. At first introduction Velghe’s voice against the sparse introduction is a bit shocking. It has a high register and he sings strong and with gusto. Once the rest of the track and arrangement kicks in, however, his voice sits nicely above the instrumentation, it smooths out well and I ease into the track pretty comfortably. It’s a pleasant listen up until about 2:05 where the duplicating vocal kind of loses me. It just feels a little too loose in comparison to the tight instrumentation on the rest of the track. The music is really great with a strong backbeat and bass line and some swirling guitar and steel parts. The track ends strong and the harmony pieces there work for me actually quite well. I wish that would have been duplicated in the earlier sharing of the vocal work. The track features vocal accompaniment by Alejandro Escovedo as well, which is a benefit to that final harmony piece.
“how long til the voices at the gate / wake you just to say you missed another plane?”
Velghe proclaims about the record “It’s about people who fight to die and win and people who fight to live and lose, and it asks what you do when they’re gone.” I can get that from listening to a few other songs. It’s an ambitious 16 tracks, which I feel may be a bit much for someone who isn’t already a fan of John, but I also suppose it gives folks a lot to choose from. (edit: 16 tracks is the bandcamp download with acoustic tracks, actual record is 11)
Overall, I think I will revisit this record and give it a solid listen. The arrangements are strong and the songwriting is great and with time, I am sure the sound will grow on me a bit more.
Check it out for yourself: