Considering the economic train wreck that is today\u2019s musical marketplace, and the seeming randomness of modern fame and fortune (Kardashians, anyone?), the real question is why wouldn\u2019t<\/i> an observant, insightful artist turn his or her attentions to the capriciousness of fate?<\/p>\n
One thing\u2019s for sure, singer-songwriter-guitarist Neil Luckett isn\u2019t going quietly; his power trio tvfordogs\u2019 fourth studio album By Chance<\/i> opens with a triple-shot of thunder that will set your ears ringing and your legs twitching. Opener \u201cAlibi\u201d grabs immediately with a searching lyric and confectionary riffing of the Teenage Fanclub \/ Tom Petty school. Then the snarling kiss-off \u201cCecilia Lane\u201d ups the tempo with a crashing open and relentless drive fueled by the hyperkinetic rhythm section of Mark Homer (bass) and Paul Jarrett (drums). If you haven\u2019t been rocked back on your heels by now, the blisteringly heavy and superbly hooky \u201cSolid Ground\u201d will surely do it, a masterful R.E.M.-meets-Black Crowes stomper.<\/p>\n
Echoing a Warren Zevon song title, Luckett and company shift gears for the lush melodicism and layered harmonies of the mid-tempo \u201cSplendid Isolation.\u201d It\u2019s another tight number that doesn\u2019t waste a note, and leads right into the rather Kinks-ian power-jangle of \u201cAnother Time,\u201d heard again later on \u201cHer Little Secret.\u201d The dreamy \u201cEscape Velocity\u201d paints another shade of the melodic-rock rainbow, with the feel of a British Invasion tune reimagined by Pink Floyd.<\/p>\n
Next up, the sweet half-acoustic interlude \u201cSunshine\u201d leads into one of the album\u2019s highlights, as \u201cTry\u201d delivers a wide-open rocker brimming with hard-earned wisdom: \u201cBut I try, and I try, not so hard \/ That I might succeed \/ And I lie, and I lie to myself \/ Like a prisoner who\u2019s afraid to be free.\u201d Yeah, that\u2019s the stuff\u2014but wait, there\u2019s more.<\/p>\n
\u201cI surrender myself to my fate \/ To where the wind blows, to where the tide takes\u201d sings Luckett in the gospel prologue to the Springsteenesque, saxophone-and-glockenspiel-accented closing title track. It\u2019s a musical left turn from everything that precedes it, and succeeds beautifully, providing genuine uplift and resolution at the close of an album about facing up to the uncertainties of fate. \u201cI can\u2019t do any more than I have \/ I raise my hands \/ And live by chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
As if charting a trip through the five stages of grief, By Chance<\/i> moves from denial and anger through bargaining and depression to reach acceptance. A gifted songsmith, Luckett leads listeners on a memorable journey full of jangle and whimsy, exasperation and defiance. Take a chance and ride along.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":32151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[7661],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-43902","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-tvfordogs","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/43902","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\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/43902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43902"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=43902"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=43902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}