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Look Who's Talking! |
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Journeyman musician Tommy Elskes sounds like a roadhouse veteran on his second album, Bohemia. This makes an excellent calling card for his live show and could help him graduate from those bars to better paying gigs. |
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Austin, Texas develops some of the best and most memorable musicians ever to grace the stages or the studios of this grand land. Well, another has been delivered. His name is Tommy Elskes. Although the man doesn't hail from that part of the country, he sure learned a few licks along the way. From start to finish this CD really impressed me. Tommy's strong vocals and standout lyrics are some of the reasons why each song holds its own right alongside some of the more and successful artists that we have come to know and appreciate. His performance level easily matches performers who have household names, such as Springsteen and Taylor. This CD is full of richly diverse styles. Elskes brings a full plate to the table, with a mighty strong blues feel to it. You will hear many different elements as well, including r&b, country, and rock. Every aspect of this varied musical soundscape helps to carry the messages within each song. It all comes streaking down the railroad of your mind and directly to the heart. Lyrically the content is on a level all it's own. While all the musicianship is excellent, it's the lyrics and vocals that push the Elskes into a realm that few have reached in their careers. Emotionally, this disc turned me inside out and gave me chills at the same time. It all has an air of magic and timelessness that is hard to explain in words. This music tells many stories. While painting pictures of the characters and situations in your mind, it has a down home southern feel to it. The music and words will tug on your heartstrings. A little bit of us all is in each and every song. Some quickly recognizable standards are covered - "Motherless Child" (Eric Clapton & many others), "Madman Across The Water" (Elton John), and the classic by the Left Banke, "Walk Away Rene." Elskes really let's it all hang out, and he let's everyone know the power and suggestiveness of his vocal prowess in all of these great songs. Some of the original compositions - "Breaux Bridge" and "To Fat To Fly", focuses on his introspective point of view and his grand sense of humor. Do yourself a huge favor...pick up this CD. It won't leave your stereo for long before it finds its way back there for another spin. Yes, Tommy Elskes has arrived. Won't you welcome him into your hearts and minds? |
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Tommy Elskes delivers pop-rock, folk, country, blues, R&B, and even a touch of Cajun music on his versatile, listenable second album. In a voice that reeks of sincerity and sensitivity, he mixes a handful of originals with covers as wide-ranging as Walter Hyatt, Elton John/Bernie Taupin, and a couple of public domain traditionals. Elskes, a New Mexico native who spent a year in Los Angeles, recently moved to New Orleans after long stints in Austin and Telluride. He released his first album, King of Dixie, in 1993 in Austin. On the new album, he was joined in the studio by a diverse group of musicians including Ponty Bone on accordion, Tony Campise on horns, Paul Glasse on mandolin, Chris Maresh on bass, Riley Osbourn on keyboards, Paul Pearcy on drums, and Ted Roddy on harmonica. The music is, as expected, from this group, solid and Elskes' songwriting is specific: · On "Breaux Bridge," an evocative song about crawfish and human lures, he sings, "talk that talk, pinch that tail, sip your whiskey and set your sail;" · On the title song, a foggy wisp of a piece, he sings about some fool inquiring if Elskes really knows what it's like "to be alive way down in Bohemia," where people are "flyin' high;" * · On "Too Fat to Fly," he sings, "I gave up bein' superman, so many years ago, now I run real fast and pretend I'm flyin' low." Elskes does a good job of interpreting others' lyrics, too, bringing new perspectives to songs including the Elton John hit "Madman Across the Water," the oft-recorded traditional "Motherless Child," and the traditional "No More Cane on the Brazos (Go Down Hannah). |