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Rick Spreitzer: Meanderthal
So you go to your local dimly-lit, arty coffeehouse to have a cup of mocha cappuccino. To your surprise, theres live entertainment tonight a guy and his guitar pouring their hearts out on one end of the room. Your coffees hot and you wait for it to cool, listening to the singer spew his guts out on the floor. This guys pretty good, you think to yourself. That guy is Rick Spreitzer. Rick Spreitzer is from Charlotte, NC, and his album is called Meanderthal. On it, he sings, plays guitar, and occasionally breaks out the harmonica. Rick has some friends, and they add mandolin and banjo to the mix. He also has someone who sounds exactly like one of the Indigo Girls singing backup. These songs convey the brutal honesty of the average coffeehouse session. Even if the stories told here are fictitious, I believe every word of them. Im a sucker like that. Ricks lyrics shed light on his own flaws, but its with a sense of awareness and acceptance, rather than wallowing in self-pity like others of his genre. The lyrics are what keep you listening. Ive already covered the instrumentation for this album: stringed instruments, vocals and occasional harmonica. While the players here are experts in their craft, about halfway through the fourteen tracks on this CD, youll start to yearn for more. Come on Rick, dont any of your friends play drums? Bass? Keyboards? The sound here is solid, but it lacks variety. By the end, it will all start to sound like the same song. Again, its the lyrics that keep you listening. You get a hint of these songs by listening to Meanderthal, but I would bet that the true soul of these compositions only comes across when Mr. Spreitzer gets onstage. The album has a live feel, but it lacks the gravity and frailty of a live performance. These tracks are postcards, but Rick Spreitzer is sunny California when he plays live. Taken in small doses, this album is delightful, but from end to end, it becomes an anonymous blurry pile of music.
This album can be purchased at Rick Spreitzer Official Website LEFT OFF THE DIAL's Rick Spreitzer page About LOTD Contact/Staff Advertise Home All content © LEFT OFF THE DIAL 2001-2005. All rights reserved. |
