Folk Review: Jack Tempchin-This Guitar and Tonight

Release Date: August 23rd, 2019

Label: Mailboat Records

Website

Jack Tempchin is a folk artist famous for providing the world with what is now recognized as the California Sound. He entered the music world as a member of the Funky Kings in the 1970s and then proceeded to cowrite multiple radio hits in the 80s. He worked closely with Glenn Frey, co-writing songs such as ̈True Love,” ̈The one you Love, ̈ ̈Sexy Girl, ̈ and ̈"Party Town.” Originally from Encinitas, the city of San Diego proudly congratulated him on his success in 2012, when the mayor announced a “Peaceful Easy Feeling Day” to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Tempchin’s song released as a single. Tempchin’s newest album One More Time With Feeling is filled to the brim with emotion, amazing instrumentals, and lyrics sufficient to inspire his audience. 

Tempchin cleverly titled his newest album, since every single one of these songs has plenty of feeling to reveal. This album tells the story of a man going through a rollercoaster of emotions, all closely linked to love. The first song on this album, “True Love,” maintains a smooth melody, giving off a serene and calm atmosphere that suggests introspection and reflection on Tempchin’s part. It shows Tempchin first reflecting over whichever romantic battle he continues to describe in the rest of the album. “True Love” is a consistent theme throughout the album, repeatedly singing “True Loves got a lifetime guarantee” in “Never had the chance to say Goodbye.” “Love’s First Lesson” takes a much more solemn and reflective tone, claiming that loves first lesson is a broken heart. Tempchin demonstrates to his audience a glimpse of his love life and includes the highs and the lows, the good times and the bad times. 

Tempchin especially demonstrates his capability of writing a multitude of songs corresponding to multiple different genres in One More Time With Feeling. Although he does stick with his home genre of folk, Tempchin bounces from songs that are upbeat and fun to songs that are sad and tear-jerking. The title track, “One More Time With Feeling” is a song you can get up and dance to, its energetic. However, “Always Magic When the Sun Goes Do” is smooth, calming, and reflective. Whereas the instrumentals in “One More Time With Feeling” feel like they’re urging you to get up and dance, the instrumentals too “Always Magic When The Sun Goes Do” feel like they’re comforting you after a breakup. Tempchin’s One More Time With Feeling provides its audience with a whirlwind of emotions. From adrenaline to introspection, Tempchin demonstrates his amazing talent in each one of his songs. 

Key Tracks Include “Never Had The Chance to Say Goodbye”, “One More Time With Feeling”, “Love’s First Lesson”, “Peaceful Easy Feeling”

Ana McLaughlin-Muzikman.net Staff

October 21, 2019

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Rate The Tracks

Tracks: 
01. One of the Good Old Days
02. Peaceful Easy Feeling
03. True Love
04. One More Time With Feeling
05. Never Had The Chance To Say Goodbye
06. Back To The Old Me
07. Loves First Lesson
08. Out in The Desert
09. Always Magic When The Sun Goes Do
10. Big Lincoln

 

Blues Review: Bob Margolin-This Guitar and Tonight

Release Date: October 25, 2019

Label: Independent

Website

Making music for nearly 50 years now, Bob Margolin is the current face of Blues. Born in 1964, Margolin began playing guitar at the age of 15 and quickly started getting gigs at local restaurants. Not long after that, he was recruited by Muddy Waters in 1973 and went on to receive 3 Grammys by his side. In the ’80s, however, Margolin left Muddy to go solo and started diving deep into the world of Blues. As the years went on, he began to receive more and more recognition, leading him to win “Best Male Blues Artist” and “Best Traditional Blues Album” in 2016. After his most recent album “My Road” was a success, there’s been much excitement about the release of his upcoming album This Guitar and Tonight. Not only does this album meet the high expectations set by thousands of his listeners, it exceeds them through each song’s

heart wrenching and personal sentiment. 

This Guitar and Tonight is wonderfully emotional, it's a brief look into Margolin’s emotive side. Throughout the title track, Margolin wails into the mic about his former sorrows regarding a woman. He describes how his guitar and Blues are the only constants in his life, stating “The only thing that’s right is this guitar and tonight” while discussing an issue with a love interest that is troubling him. Margolin proceeds to sing about the same sorrows in several other songs to highlight the dismal events in life so many people can relate to it. The singing style that Margolin takes on is indicative of the Blues genre and causes the readers to empathize with him and relate to his troubles. Margolin’s ability to tap into the emotions of the listeners is a wonderful example of the extent of his talents, he describes woe and despair in a way that is personal and intimate. 

One of the most intriguing parts of this album is its political take. In the song “Evil Walks in Our World,” Margolin highlights the maliciousness currently seen in today’s political atmosphere, singing “Open racism, antisemitism, families separated, kids in cages, evil walks in our world.” Whereas multiple other tracks discuss issues with love affairs, this song gets more serious and talks about the holes in our society: the injustice and inequity so apparent in the United States today. Margolin gives his take on the current political atmosphere in a heart-wrenching manner that perfectly depicts the despair and hurt felt all across the United States, he uses his fame to bring attention to topics that directly affect and hurt a huge population in the United States and calls them out for what they are with no shame, evil. Margolin also expresses his political opinions during the song “Dancer’s Boogie.” The cheery and upbeat song takes a detour from the rest of the album to tell the audience to get up and dance with the song. This is Margolin’s call for unity: by telling everyone to come together and dance, he’s telling his listeners to ignore race, sex, political parties, etc. and find peace with one another.

The rest of the album tells the story of a woeful character expressing his tragedies in a multitude of ballads, a character that Margolin is perfect for. The combination of Margolin’s sorrowful voice and the use of traditional Blues instruments cause the entire album to feel emotional and intimate. Each song feels like you’re consoling your friend while he goes through a rough album. This Guitar and Tonight is a perfect album for when you’re in the mood to let your emotions out, get mad at the world, or a little bit of both. 

Key Tracks Include “This Guitar and Tonight,” “Evil Walks in Our World,”  “Dancer’s Boogie,” “Blues Lover”

Ana McLaughlin-MuzikMan.net Staff

October 21, 2019

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Tracks:
1. This Guitar and Tonight
2. Evil Walks in Our World
3. Over Time
4. Dancer’s Boogie
5. Blues Lover
6. Good Driving Song
7. I Can’t Take Those Blues Away
8. Together
9. Predator