It’s not often I find myself speechless when trying to describe
\na band to a person who’s never heard of a group. But in the case of
\nVaganza, while some comparisons are easy to make, it is very hard
\nto say what I think the group is about.<\/p>\n
The duo of David Longworth Wallingford and Quigley, both of whom
\nare multi-instrumentalists, make up Vaganza, whose debut album
\nmerges all the bombasticness of Queen with the vocal style of
\nFrankie Valli, occasionally throwing in a Latin beat to make sure
\nyou’re paying attention. Their self-titled debut has some
\nincredibly good moments on it, though they aren’t able to sustain
\nthe momentum through the entire album.<\/p>\n
When you hear the guitar work on songs like “She’s Crazy,” you’d
\nswear that Freddie Mercury and Queen were playing on this disc.
\nHowever, Wallingford and Quigley manage to take such a classic
\nsound and make it their own, albeit much more campy than Queen in,
\nsay, 1975 would have done things. Other songs like “Wedding Day”
\nare painfully beautiful, diving into a human emotion that many have
\nfelt and put it to words of sad acceptance. It’s a slice of pop
\nculture that must be heard, and is a logical pick for a single.<\/p>\n
There’s even a touch of David Bowie-style bombast on the album’s
\ncloser, “Rock n’ Roll Apocalypse,” a song which doesn’t seem like
\nit runs for over nine minutes. And just when you think you’ve heard
\nit all, there’s a bit of spice thrown into the mix on songs like
\n“Margherita,” a twist which seems to hit at just the right
\ntime.<\/p>\n
For all this so far, one would think that
\nVaganza<\/i> is a debut album that is near perfection. However,
\nthe formula of the songs gets a little threadbare as the disc runs
\non, as evidenced by tracks like “Too Darn Good”. And maybe it’s
\njust me, but I think I could live without song lyrics such as this
\none from “Start Liking Yourself”: “When you see all the love we
\nshare \/ Can’t you see it’s going straight into my derierre?” Oh,
\nplease.<\/p>\n
But where Vaganza’s strengths lie are in the performance of this
\nmusic. Both Wallingford and Quigley are more than competent
\nmusicians, and both are strong enough vocalists that either could
\nhandle lead vocal chores comfortably. It is nice to hear the
\ntradeoff among them, as each song seems more suited to a particular
\nvoice. And the instrumentation is so strong, it’s sometimes hard to
\nbelieve that, with rare exception, this music is coming from only
\ntwo people. (Quite possibly the rich orchestration helps the image
\n– I don’t want to say illusion, because Vaganza gives fair credit
\nto all their backing musicians.)<\/p>\n
In fact, the music on
\nVaganza<\/i> is so strong that it might seem overpowering at
\nfirst. There is definitely a camp attitude towards the music,
\nsomething I would think that Wallingford and Quigley would happily
\nadmit to. I would dare to say that it is this “to hell with it all,
\nlet’s be gaudy” attitude that helps to make
\nVaganza<\/i> an interesting, enjoyable listen, and I’m willing to
\nplay along with Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
Once you get over the initial shock,
\nVaganza<\/i> proves itself to be a pleasant surprise of this
\nyear’s new releases. And with a little stronger songwriting (though
\nthey’re not far off the mark), this band will definitely be one
\nready to invade your radio in the very near future.<\/p>\n
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