Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There are moments when you hear an album by a band, a solo musician, a collective of seemingly mismatched performers who somehow bring everything together to make a perfect record that you end up shedding a few tears of regret that you know you will never get to see them perform live. One such solo performer is the American musician Alexx Calisle, one such band is the sensational The Cherry Bluestorms from Los Angeles.
The debut album from the band, Transit of Venus, was released in 2007 and right from the initial first beat, there is something that grabs the attention of the listener, the memory of the innocent music of the 60s wrapped in great vocals and percussion by Deborah Gee and music provided by Glen Laughlin and Ryan Brown. The overall construct, the final feel is an amalgam of somewhere between listening to Ann and Nancy Wilson in their American folk stage, the allure of Chrissie Hynds at her most provocative added and mixed thoroughly with just a dash of Portishead, the result is astonishing, a real treat for the ears.
The album gives the nod to its heritage at the very start leaving the listener under no illusion to where the band is coming from. With some bands the use of a Beatles track in their arsenal can detract from the sensation, everybody knows the music and for the most part nobody covers their songs any better than the original artist, save perhaps the great Joe Cocker. However by covering one of the less played songs from their dominant days, Baby You’re A Rich Man, the group set out to surprise and enthral and the song with its changed weaving patterns is a great version.
With the comparison to the sixties era out the way quickly, there is no obligation for the listener to think that the band are harking back to a past that can never be captured in the same way, the original feel of the opening song makes it fresh and leads the listener in gently to what is about to come, a sixties mark two, American folk mixed with the presence of the psychedelic or some great and well-written tunes, either way The Cherry Bluestorms are their own unique offering.
Transit of Venus is a very enjoyable way to kill an hour, to wind down too and forget the pressure of 21st century living for a while and in tracks such as the marvellous Just A Kiss Away, the exceptional quality of Her Mirror Cracked and the beauty of Awaken spell out the eminence and excellence of this debut album. Even if breaks your heart to know you will probably never see them live, at least you will have this record to enjoy.
Ian D. Hall