Singer Tony Adamo by muzikreviews

Artist:Tony Adamo
Title:What Is Hip?
Genre:Jazz
Label:Independent
Release Date:2011
Product Link:http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/tonyadamo3/from/muzikman
Website:http://www.myspace.com/tonyrocadamo
Source Link:http://www.muzikreviews.com/reviews.php?ID=1448

Tony Adamo has a voice that sounds like what you would get if you put Dr. John, Lou Rawls, and Mark Murphy into a bomb shelter with a mad Dr. and presented him the challenge of harmonizing their voices into one. After a few experiments in blending I believe the final version would sound exactly like Tony Adamo. His voice is ultra-cool and makes you feel cool just listening to the red hot jazz funk with a heavy dose of groove he is laying down. On his new album, What is Hip? He creates a standard of great music that raises the bar high above the heads of the followers in this genre.

Tony’s version of the Tower of Power classic “What is Hip” is on fire. It is amazingly cool and funked up beatnik style. He has picked the perfect song for his voice to cover here and knocks it out of the park and into another park where it immediately scores a grand slam. Anyone who covers this song needs to listen to this and think about what they are going to do and if they can push the bar higher than Tony has. “Nine Miles of Blues” opens perfectly with an organ that only makes Tony’s voice sound cool and smooth like frozen vodka bite size ice cubes. The horns that bring up the background are just enough and never overshadow as some horns can.

Covering the Beatles is like walking in quicksand with lead filled snow shoes, most who try never make it across. Tony takes a stab at the walk with a cover of “Eleanor Rigby”. It works because Tony doesn’t take the standard route in covering a song. He reinterprets this song with a rocked up jazzy vibe that doesn’t come across as a cover version but instead comes across as simply another version. Tony makes it across the quicksand by simply being cool enough to be himself. “Rio De Janerio Blues” is like a cool breeze as you sit on the balcony of a beautiful house that looks out onto a perfect sunset gently going into the ocean. It is so relaxing and laidback with its hints of organ and whispered backup vocals that just invite you to pull your hat down a bit lower and let your mind drift away. This album is made for relaxing and just feeling good about your ability to hear. You’ve heard of brain food, well this is ear food and feel free to help yourself to seconds.

4.5/5 Stars

Key Tracks-Rio De Janerio Blue, Cold Duck Time (Get Your Groove On Line), What Is Hip?

Doug Morrissey- Muzikreviews.com Staff

February 21, 2011

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