Fred Moolten began writing music and lyrics in 1998, mostly to
\namuse himself. But over time he realized that, while he was writing
\nas an avenue to express his feelings and perspectives, other people
\nwere taking note of the results. The twist came when writer Moolten
\nchose to allow others to perform his music.<\/p>\n
His six song CD features Lisa Hindmarsh (vocals), Ernie Hawkins
\n(acoustic guitar), and Rodan Weikert (multiple instruments and
\nback-up vocals). Other performers include Max Leake, Brian
\nStahurski, Pete Freeman, George Heid, and Nelson Harrison. Harrison
\ninvented an instrument called the trombetto (hybrid of the trumpet
\nand trombone), and uses it on “Last Dance.”<\/p>\n
Lisa Hindmarsh was a child of ’70s pop music and released her
\nown debut solo recording, Now I Know, in 2000. It was nominated for
\n2001 Jazz\/Cabaret album of the year by Just Plain Folks (an
\nassociation of industry professionals and independent artists).
\nErnie Hawkins plays all over the place; festivals, concerts, clubs,
\ncolleges, and workshops. He studied with Rev. Gary Davis, and has
\npublished two CDs. Rodan Weikert’s background is a bit less
\nflowery, but no less noteworthy. He is an accomplished guitarist
\nand was included based on his feel for the blues.<\/p>\n
Moonlit River is thick with blues, with a touch of folk. It
\nbegins with “Someday Blues,” where Rodan Weikert knocks your socks
\noff with the mouthharp, building on the aching feeling for which
\nthe blues are known. Ernie Hawkins lays out the rhythm with the
\nguitar.<\/p>\n
With “Someday I’ll Think Of You Without The Blues” Woolten
\nshares heartache and woe. The dobro is played by Pete Freeman. It
\nis a sad, sad song but then, that’s what the blues is all about. I
\nlike the melancholy nature of this tune.<\/p>\n
“Candle Glow” is seductive and sexy. Max Leake performs on the
\npiano, and the song has that old-time blues feel to it, taking you
\nback to the days when you could sit and listen to a piano player
\ncroon and play, expressing the pain everyone feels at some point in
\ntheir life. The lyrics are exceptional but don’t override the bold
\nmusic.<\/p>\n
Nelson Harrison offers his expertise on the trombone on “Waiting
\nfor the Midnight Blues,” another song of lost love, nights missed,
\nand lonely moments that drag on. The trombone work alone makes this
\npiece worth listening to.<\/p>\n
While all the rest of the songs are sung by Lisa Hindmarsh,
\n“Last Dance” features vocals by Rodan Weikert. I reluctantly admit
\nthat I don’t care for his voice. It just isn’t to my personal
\nliking; it sounds a bit silly. Still, somehow the song works. The
\ntemperament reminds me of the old blues recordings — not very
\nsmooth, but rich with character.<\/p>\n
Fred Moolten definitely has a talent for writing. I enjoyed this
\nCD. In fact, I think it’s got some of the best independently
\nrecorded blues that I’ve heard in a while, and the artists that
\nperformed his music did exceptional work. All in all, it’s worthy
\nof your time and money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":27014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[7147],"rating":[5612],"class_list":["post-38338","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-fred-moolten","rating-rating-b-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38338"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38338"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}