On Cuddy Mack’s self-titled EP, he gracefully blends spirited
\nfunk, soulful gospel and soft rock into a well-written, effectively
\nperformed example of his work.<\/p>\n
At the age of seven, Mack began to play the drums. The seed of
\ninspiration was planted by his father, who urged his son to develop
\na love of music and a desire to perform. Cuddy would listen to his
\nbrother Eddie scat, carefully listening to the sounds he made. And
\nhe would watch brother William sing, observing how he used his
\nmouth to make the notes. He absorbed it all and combined it with Al
\nJarreau’s influence; he used to mimic Jarreau for hours every day.
\nUnknowingly, he was developing a style all his own.<\/p>\n
The first song on this EP is “The Gate Called Beautiful.” The
\nlyrics are substantial and inspiring — “…at the gate…where
\ncolor is not a problem, where hate is not allowed.” Not sure if
\nthis gospel piece is one of sentimental hope, or is a song of
\nfrustration over the unfairness of life. Either way, the words are
\nbeautifully laid out. It is a lengthy song, and I personally would
\nhave preferred a shorter version, but then it is an EP after all.
\nAnd the time did float by and my attention was held the entirety of
\nthe song.<\/p>\n
“Don’t U Ever Leave” has an upbeat and funky rhythm. This love
\nsong begs the lady to stay. I liked the sexy growl in Cuddy’s
\nvocals. The song progresses into a harder rock mode. The guitar is
\nbold and strong, but unfortunately often outweighs the vocals. The
\nlyrics are a tad repetitive near the end. Like any relationship,
\nMack believes that music is a marriage between the “he” (the
\nartist) and the “she” (the music itself). Like a relationship, it
\ntakes effort, determination and a desire to succeed. “Slipping
\nAway” has exuberant guitar work; done in rock-hard riffs. Again the
\nvocals are powerful, and I like the catch that he adds as another
\ndimension.<\/p>\n
“Music is a creative path” chosen for Cuddy Mack, one of purpose
\nand destiny. Cuddy Mack is an intelligent, deeply caring
\nindividual. He has a strong desire to touch his listeners in a
\npositive way. He’s not cocky, but upfront and honest about his
\ntalent. He believes in himself. And although it may appear that I
\ndid not like this EP, I actually did. Mack is a little funky, a
\nlittle chunky on the rock and has a foundation of spunky gospel
\nthat is intriguing. As a first EP, I think it’s noteworthy. I
\nwould, however, be very interested in hearing something more at a
\nlater date. I hope that he continues to “water” that seed that was
\nplanted long ago. I have no doubt that the tree will bear
\nfruit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":27048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7157],"rating":[5612],"class_list":["post-38374","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-cuddy-mack","rating-rating-b-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38374","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=38374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38374"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}