In recent days I've started to receive unsolicited review material in the mail from various music companies and promoters. I guess I should be taking that as a compliment that people think highly enough of my work, or highly enough of the sites that publish me anyway, that they think it worthwhile to seek my opinion of their product.
The problem is that more then three-quarters of the time I listen to one track of the disc and know that there's no way I can listen to the whole thing and retain my sanity. In those cases I merely write the company back and say, "I don't think I'm the person best suited to reviewing this product and I'm unfamiliar with this type of music." The hard part is trying to think of a tactful way to tell them to stop sending me stuff unless I ask for it. What it usually comes down to is saying, "Stop sending me shit unless I ask for it."
But once in a while I get lucky and a company, generally not the ones I've told to stop sending me stuff, will send me something that I would have regretted missing out on. Earlier this week a disc showed up in my mail box from one of my contacts who nine times out of ten sends stuff she knows I can review, and this one was no exception.
I'd never heard of Stacy Mitchhart before, which of course means nothing as there are probably a million or more acts out there who would meet the same criteria, but my attention was caught by the fact that he plays a resonator guitar. I have a soft spot for resonator guitars and willing to give anyone who claims to play one the benefit of the doubt that they know what they are doing with it.
After listening to Stacy's forthcoming release, (Sept. 18, 2007), Gotta Get The Feeling Back Again there are no doubts in my mind that this man knows what he's doing not only with a resonator guitar, but with anything to do with the blues. I'd never thought of Cincinnati, Ohio as a hot bed for blues players before, but if Stacy is an example of the quality of musician that comes out of there they could give Chicago a run for it's money as a breeding ground for great players.
Article comments
1 - Declan
The lyric in Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" is "Big-legged woman ain't got no soul", not "Big-legged wom[e]n ain't got no soul", which gives a totally different intent to the lyric. Plant is singing about a woman, not women in general. A little more research by both Mitchhart and you would be in order.