‘American Idol’ veteran reveals broken heart on new CD

Reviewed by Kit Burns

Paul Marturano/Bucks County

Paul Marturano will perhaps be always known for his appearance on American Idol, singing his “Stalker” tune to Paula Abdul. But Marturano is surprisingly a fine pianist and a serious singer/songwriter, too. His 2007 release, Bucks County, is an emotionally involving collection of songs for the dumped. Drawing similarities with Billy Joel, Elton John, and Ben Folds, Marturano nevertheless crafts these tunes with his own seemingly heartbroken vision. The spiteful “Strings Attached” finds Marturano at the peak of his angst, yelling “You can take your love and shove it” with the wounded venom of somebody who isn’t putting up with any more shit. “Hello Again” details the ups and downs of an off-again, on-again relationship. “All You Have to Be” finds Marturano simply looking for the right girl and most likely not finding her.

Those expecting demented chuckles won’t find much of that here. Marturano is an excellent musician, though, and his piano playing can be quite cinematic, especially on “Strings Attached.” On “Me and Joe” and “The Man,” Marturano switches to Americana, complete with jangling guitars on the former. There’s more feeling on this record than anything you’ll hear on American Idol.

http://www.paulmarturano.com

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LambBone’s ‘Wild Man’ is a wildly eclectic brew of jazz, funk, and blues

Reviewed by Kit Burns

LambBone/Wild Man

You can almost compare LambBone, otherwise known as John Lamb, to Ben Folds. The piano-based rock is a dead giveaway to one of Lamb’s major influences, not to mention some of the caustic lyrics, such as those found on “News.” But while Folds is often tightly knit with his alternative roots, Lamb knows no boundaries, shuffling the deck with pinches of jazz, Latin music, funk, psychedelia, and blues. LambBone is so eclectic that a new term needs to be defined for music that crosses borders in such a schizophrenic fashion. Surprisingly, LambBone’s stylistic derring-do is not confusing at all; this isn’t the mad creativity of Frank Zappa on the loose but rather a gifted, versatile musician utilizing all of his strengths.

At times, especially on the title track, “One of the These Nights,” and “Cleveland Blues,” Lamb recalls Joe Jackson in his late ’70s-early ’80s prime. While the tracks don’t have the kinetic energy of Jackson’s vintage bile, Lamb’s voice is reminiscent of Jackson’s in his more mellow moments. Jackson, too, was a rock & roll iconoclast, leaping from genre to genre with every succeeding album. Lamb takes it a step further, doing all of that on the same record. “Be My Girl” has a soft, jazzy foundation while the satirical “Lawyer” would make Randy Newman proud with its pointed wit.

http://www.lambbone.com

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