| Recorded
and Mixed at the House of Vibes by Kurt Reil
Produced by Kurt Reil and CJ
Grogan Musicians:
CJ Grogan: vocals, guitars,
keyboards, banjo, sitar
Vince Grogan: bass
Kurt Reil: drums, percussion
and backing vocals Special guests:
Frank Slingerland:
Saxophones
Jess Johnson: backing vocals The Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist
from Central Jersey, formerly of the Grievous Angels, is a bit of a musical chameleon.
He came to the House of Vibes with a fistful of great power pop songs, which were
laid down in summer/fall of '93. He then morphed into a writer of powerful, introspective
and very personal folk songs which were recorded acoustically, virtually live,
conjuring up images of Tim Buckely crossed with REM. Another change came with
the introduction of piano-driven songs, which were duly recorded at HOV with brother
Vince on bass and Kurt on drums. As always, the music led him in a new direction,
which has now become "newsongtoo". This collection of 12 songs (to be
released in 2004) is the culmination of every direction Chris has gone in. Some
parts pop, some acoustic, some noisy, some quiet. "NewSongToo is everything
that I am," says Chris. "It goes in many different directions, but leads
back to one place. It's been a long time for me.... but I don't mind." | |
| R
E V I E W "With all the talk regarding
'the next big this' and 'the trendy new that', what do you say about someone truly
talented like CJ Grogan? Well I say 'wow!' A few other words come to mind, like
soulful, emotional, diverse and totally rewarding. Newsongtoo, skillfully co-produced
as well as powerfully drummed by the Grip Weeds' Kurt Reil showcases Grogan's
massive instrumental prowess on guitar and keyboards. But as with all the best
rock and roll, it's the singing and the songs that really matter,
and let
me tell you CJ Grogan delivers the goods with this stunning debut."
- Richard X. Heyman (Journeyman Singer/Songwriter/Recording Artist) Amplifier
May-June 2004 C.J. Grogan
NewSongtoo
Fake
Chapter (fakechapter.com)
New
Jersey-based CJ Grogan is an old-school power popper. Occasional flashes of the
blue-collar rock of the Smithereens and Richard X. Heyman's British Invasion-inspired
classicism show up here and there, no doubt at least partially because of the
presence of producer/drummer Kurt Reil and bassist Vince Grogan, who have worked
with Heyman and Smithereens guitarist Jim Babjak's side project Buzzed Meg. But
the best songs are those where Grogan allows himself to stretch the parameters
of the style a bit, such as the hypnotic piano-based title track, which vaguely
recalls the lighter moments of Big Star's Sister Lowers but is otherwise the most
unique and endearing song on the album. Grogan cheerfully acknowledges his influences
-- there are songs called "Thrashing Doves" (apparently after the '80s
U.K. proto-shoegazers) and "Bacharach" -- but Newsongtoo is best when
it expands beyond them. -- STEWART MASON | |
Fake
Chapter Records