Andrew Weiss and Friends - ...To Change A Light Bulb

 

I'm a big fan of New York's Andrew Weiss. He has a reputation as a sort of Laurel Canyon troubadour and a fine storyteller. But there has always been much more and as he has become really prolific recently without ever foregoing the quality.

He has always had a way with Pop Rock that transcends his West Coast Rock reputation and it bursts out in spades here. There's also the surprise of liberally spread more modern synths that have more in common  with 80s New Wave.

Don't get me wrong, there is still plenty of his 70s sounding joy present, for instance the splendid Mr Roy Gee Biv with its Don Henley like vocal and storytelling strength of Milk Carton Missing Kid, a top notch duet with Sara Barsky that mixes American, West Coast and Folk.

You Against The World gets all Classic Rock and Weiss still has his strength with a building Anthem, this time it is Shirley, This Can't Be It. The songwriting strength stands out on Today, Tomorrow, The End Of Next Week, The Latest is Easy Listening Joy.

The Pop Rock really stands out, especially on the magnificent This Parking Lot Has No Vacancy, which may be the best song that Weiss has ever written. Epic in scope, beautifully arranged. There has never been a Weiss album that disappoints, but this may be his best ever.

You can listen to and buy the album here. 

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Andrew Weiss And Friends - The Last Of The Outdoor Kids

 

The last time that we visited New York's Andrew Weiss was for 2022's excellent Sunglasses & Ash. You can read the review here. The great news is that he has lost none of his ability to switch directions at will. One minute, he is serving up Great Guitar Pop, the next sounding more West Coast and he isn't afraid to venture into Folk and Americana, particularly acoustically.

All of these things are here and he may have a chameleon like quality, but he does everything beautifully. If the first thing that you heard was the closer, Hope All Is Well, you would think that he's a Classic Rock troubadour. But listen to the opener, I Don't Wanna Live In This World and you will hear one of the best slices of Guitar Pop that you have heard all year.

There is plenty of Pop Rock here. Put That In Your Pipe (And Smoke It) is pure 80s AOR and Knots I Can't Untie Rocks things up and may be the standout song here. How Far Would You Go is more Classic Rock, but vocally. a little Don Henley. All three are lyrically adept and beautifully performed.

But the West Coast sounding songs are just as engaging. Betsy Ross Blues is great storytelling, It's Not Funny creeps up on you, hypnotic at times with some superb Steel Guitar. Cash For Gold could be The Band.

The Acoustic journey is moody and magnificent. The Hour In Between Worlds mixes Folk with Americana, it is a fine duet with Sara Barsky. Arnold Palmer sounds like a self confessional and This Is Your Captain Speaking becomes a 70s Pop Rock easy listening joy.

A Special Mention for Virginia Slim which adds Sax and Honky Tonk Piano to a Let's Do The Song Right Here vibe. The Sax solo is ace. The Last Of The Outdoor Kids is another tour de force from Weiss (and friends). As accomplished as ever.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Andrew Weiss And Friends - Sunglass & Ash

Andrew Weiss doesn't half get a lot of labels. Americana, Laurel Canyon, Power Pop, to name just three. The answer is probably that he is all of these things and similarly none. Perhaps people should just forget about genres and sit back and enjoy the excellence on show.

Sunglass & Ash is only really Americana when Weiss picks up the acoustic guitar and some of those songs are more Singer Songwriter Pop. Laurel Canyon wise, maybe the odd time there is an Eagles before the coke feel, but again the Pop is more pronounced. When he does Power Pop, it is all encompassing, could be Badfinger, could be Jangle Pop or could be something entirely different.

So let's settle on Pop Rock, but not any old Pop Rock. There is really feeling, sentiment and meaning in the lyrics revealing quite an observer, certainly not someone who wants to sing about how great the sun is. All this variety is his strength. 

I take three songs as examples of the variety. Tommy's Teardrops is great Jangle Guitar Power Pop, Carolina is wonderful Piano Pop with big harmonies and A Beginners Guide To Being Famous is great modern pop, think Williams / Chambers that really should be grabbed by the people behind some upcoming young "popstar".

Ballad Of The TV Housewife (1950+) is mesmerising a country twang, a petty drawl and much more. Shot In The Dark is great 70s Piano Pop, something that Weiss excels at and Never There is a twangy, let's do the show right here, shuffle. If you want Laurel Canyon, here's You Had To Be There.

Then there is Stone Washed which races along, a little Nick Piunti in feel and sound, it is built around a cracking riff. The big closer is Backstage Bella / Italian Ice, a real story of a song, a little bit solo Henley, but way better than that.

24 songs is a lot of songs (it is a double album), but the quality rarely drops and the album never ever outstays its welcome. In fact the 102 minutes fly by. Many used to do this sort of album, few do now and those that do come nowhere near the quality of this excellent release.

You can listen to and buy the album here. You can find out more about Andrew Weiss here.