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Earl Slick’s career has been a good one. From replacing Mick Ronson in Bowie’s
band in the 1970s, to his hired-gun work for artists like John Lennon and Leo
Sayer, to the two records produced in the mid ‘80s with two-thirds of the Stray
Cats as Phantom, Rocker and Slick, Earl has made his mark in the genre.
Currently touring with Bowie again and contributing to Thin White Duke’s latest
record Reality, Slick released his own solo album entitled Zig Zag.
Guitar heroes who make solo records and plug in a variety of vocalists run the
risk of constructing a disjointed product. This, however, is not the case with
Zig Zag which, despite utilizing vocalists as diverse as The Cure’s Robert
Smith, The Motels’ Martha Davis (yep, Martha Davis), Spacehog’s Royston Langdon
and Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, is an incredibly cohesive work.
Consisting of 10 tracks (four instrumentals and six with vocals) and clocking in
at just over 48 minutes, Zig Zag lays down a laid back almost danceable groove
with plenty of cool riffs throughout. This album does not blast a bunch of
overplayed noodling down your throat but instead pleasantly passes through the
ear with occasional moments of brilliance. This record is more impressive
because it feels so natural and Slick doesn’t seem to be forcing anything.
Robert Smith’s guest turn on “Believe” does the trick of taking a trademark
voice and placing it in a song that really doesn’t sound like The Cure. Bowie’s
track, “Isn’t It Evening” (The Revolutionary), is excellent and Martha Davis
sounds as if her voice hasn’t lost any of its character and sounds the way it
did 20 years ago on her song, “St. Mark’s Place.” The vocal performances fit
nicely into the overall record no matter how different they are in range and
character.
Zig Zag is getting a ton of play on my stereo and I hope it gets a listen on
yours.
~R. David Smola
pretendcritic@aol.com
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