Any time I’m listening to a disc from an independent or an
unsigned band, I try to give them as much leniency as possible and
not come off as sounding like a crusty old stodger. (I don’t know
why I bother; chances are when my daughter is a teenager, her
friends are going to think I am anyway.)
Take Joey Shaker, for example. While I am not the biggest fan of
contemporary Christian music, I kept listening to their album
Mankind to find just one more bright spot I might have
missed. In the end, it worked, to a point.
Mankind does have some serious flaws, but this quartet does
dare to approach religion in songs by not hitting the listener over
the head with the message.
The group – vocalist Joe Santora, guitarist Sean Tuohy, bassist
Peter Zaage and drumer Dennis DeRado – have as much of a jazz
influence in their music as good ol’ rock and roll. They are just
as comfortable whipping out the Rolling Stones – as they do with
their cover of “Fingerprint File” at the end of the album – as they
are working on complex rhythms.
Mankind seems to be a religious album that is willing to
meet listeners half-way. Although the disc (at least my copy,
anyway) doesn’t come with lyrics, only about half of the songs seem
to have a directly religious message to them. And even there, with
rare exception, Joey Shaker doesn’t try to shove their dogma down
your throat. This, frankly, is a welcome surprise; once I saw the
dedication in the liner notes, I was fully prepared for this to be
a Sunday school lesson put to music. Even tracks like “I Daniel”,
which I found to be more religious than secular, were
enjoyable.
Mankind, however, shows that Joey Shaker has three main
areas they have to work on. First, Santora is not the strongest
lead singer in the business – and something tells me that he would
agree with me in this regard. Granted, the more you listen to the
disc, the more Santora seems to fit with the music, but it’s a long
time before you get accustomed to his hoarse delivery. Second, Joey
Shaker needs to add harmony vocals to the mix; when background
vocals are added to the mix, staying exactly in tune with the main
melody leaves things sounding very flat.
Third – and this is the biggest point of contention I have – is
that much more musical development needs to take place with this
band. For well over half the album, the instrument I found myself
connecting with most was the bass guitar, and while Zaage’s playing
is good, I should have found myself focusing in on the guitar.
Tuohy is a decent jazz riff player, but overall, the guitar lacks
bite. Possibly adding a second guitarist to handle rhythm chores –
freeing Tuohy up to trip the jazz strings fantastic.
While
Mankind showcases a band in development, tracks like
“Carousel,” “Shifty Eyes” and “Take It Or Leave It” suggest that
Joey Shaker has potential. While the band has some big obstacles to
overcome, something tells me they can do it. Until that happens,
though,
Mankind is a portrait of a band in flux – but the more you
listen to it, the clearer the picture becomes.
