Wake
Chad Perrone
May 27, 2008
Independent release
Chad Perrone
May 27, 2008
Independent release
Boston singer-songwriter Chad Perrone, formerly known from the band Averi, is about to release his sophomore solo album. His solo debut was received with a lot of praise, and for a good reason. It was of really high standards.
Many were hopeful for another gem, including me. I was, however, wondering if he could live up to the expectations. Used To Dream was an amazing debut with very great songs. It wasn’t all sugar-sweet, and Chad wasn’t afraid to wander off in different directions musically. Some would say it was still all a bunch of safe bets, musically, and I guess he didn’t do anything ridiculously strange, but he did show musical diversity and did things he was feeling good about. Not necessarily things that people would expect.
With Wake the singer-songwriter with one of the best vocals in independent music in the US returns very strong. With upbeat alternative (pop)rock songs, sensitive ballads, and some songs with artrock inspiration, he shows more diversity, and the best thing is that he keeps the quality going for 15 songs. Plenty of ear candy for everyone.
It starts with the upbeat “Blinded” which really needs to be a radio single. I wouldn’t be surprised if that would give him the recognition he deserves, even outside of New England where he’s already a big name. (a nationwide tour with Matt Nathanson maybe? since they are friends).
“Since You” had a Graham Colton vibe to me, musically, even though I like Chad’s vocals a lot better. Lyrically it’s not the highlight of the album, even though Chad’s a really gifted lyricist.
The third song, “Madison”, is a pretty clever song. It changes pace several times, and it changes moods too. It’s quite the versatile song. And it’s a song that can appeal to fans of 12 Stones, fans of Hanson, fans of Patrick Park, fans of Hall & Oates, fans of Weezer, well, I could go on for awhile. It’s one of those songs where pretty much everyone can find something in to like.
“Awake In The Morning” is one of those songs that maybe isn’t something that hasn’t been tried before, but even a tried concept can be performed close to perfection. And this is a very good example of that. It’s also a song that shows a Chad Perrone in his comfort zone. He can fill a whole CD with songs like this, and I’ll definitely get it. Lyrically this song is probably in the top 10 of pop/soft rock songs released in the past year. Well, musically too, since it’s performed so well.
From the nice little acoustic intro to the easy-to-relate-to lyrics to the well-balanced piano parts, “Losing Direction” for me instantly was the highlight of the album. Everything just comes together perfectly in this song. The song sounds quite simple in essence, but when something works, something works. Even the backing vocals are great.
“The Next Time I See You” is something that is pretty close to the songs on Chad Perrone’s debut Used to Dream. It functions almost as a little flashback to UTD.
Then it’s finally time to the first real rocker, 2nd if you count “Blinded” (which I guess we should). “Wanting More” is a great mainstream rock song. Once again, not something that hasn’t been done before, but Chad Perrone (probably especially cause of his distinct vocals) gives it his own spin. And like I said before, if you do it well, there’s nothing wrong with taking a tried concept.
Flawlessly Chad continues with the paced “Nantucket”. With plenty of emotion in his voice and amazing vocal harmonies, this is another hidden gem of a song in the world of music. After 1:12 the music gets an extra layer and Chad’s vocals get a little fuller, as he slowly builds up this song. After it reaches a climax he nicely builds it down to a paced outro. Great song. And then we come to the inevitable piano ballad, “Only We’ll Know”. Not my favorite song on the album. It’s good, but only at times Chad reaches into his great creativity. It has a very slow build up. Kudos for changing it up though.
Melee recently had a hit with “Built To Last” and the next song on Wake, “All I Go Looking For” kinda represents the singer-songwriter addition to that kind of song. No, that’s not entirely fair to Chad. It’s more Melee meets Gin Blossoms. Anyway, it just works very very well. It could actually do well as a radio single, I think. It’s not a typical radio format, but it has something that makes it work. It’s not a typical example of a catchy song, but it does stick in your head after a couple of listens.
On “Here It Is” we get some old-fashioned Chad Perrone creativity and energy. At times it reminds me of his Averi times. Back to the alternative sound, good rock beat. For all the American Idol lovers, if mr. Cook would have heard this song, he should’ve considered covering it on his AI run. Though on the other hand, maybe not, cause I don’t think he would’ve been able to top Chad’s own version. It has everything, the right tempo, great vocals, tight musical performance, and the right accents in the right places. Dare I say, another highlight. And yes, this could also do well on radio, even though it’s not really something that we’re hearing on the radio at the moment. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t time for it. It’s been long time for that.
“Give In” is a little more alternative pop song. It shows Chad’s diversity. In a way it kinda reminds me of Michael Jackson’s glory days. I was never a big fan of Michael Jackson, but I don’t think anyone can deny that in his glory days he was a great musician. I’m not saying that this song could’ve been a Michael Jackson song. That wouldn’t be fair to either of the musicians. That would be the same thing as saying that Maroon 5’s music could’ve been Michael Jackson’s music. But place this song somewhere in between those two, musically. I think that gives you an idea of where in the spectrum to place it.
“Mary-Anne”. I think I have something with songs that have something to do with Mary Ann, Mary-Anne, Marianne. All the songs that come to mind are songs I like. This one included. It kinda feels like songs from Keaton Simons, John Mayer, & Matt Nathanson. I just love it, but I’m sure there are plenty of people going to disagree with it.
We’re nearing the end of this great album. “Train Ride” is a more artsy song. It took me quite a bit of listens but it keeps growing on me. Lyrically I love it from here until eternity, but musically it has a lot of subtle things that took me awhile to notice and to let it sink in. At the same time I feel like, ah it’s okay and wow Chad really outdid himself here. So I guess it depends on when you ask me. But there’s no question about how cleverly this song is composed.
The album finale, “Keep Us Around” is a perfect closer. In pretty much every way it ends the album. Mainstream pop/rock song. Not the most special song on the album, but it’s Chad Perrone in tiptop shape.
After listening to the whole thing, we need to come back to the question if Chad lived up to the expectations. I would like to say he absolutely did. With songs like “Wanting More”, “Blinded”, “Train Ride” and especially “Here It Is”, “Awake in the Morning” & “Losing Direction” he has a lot of things going for him. Where “Used To Dream” was without a doubt my favorite independent release of 2006, this might well become its 2008 counterpart. Out of 10 points, this will get a 9.2 (within its genre).
Many were hopeful for another gem, including me. I was, however, wondering if he could live up to the expectations. Used To Dream was an amazing debut with very great songs. It wasn’t all sugar-sweet, and Chad wasn’t afraid to wander off in different directions musically. Some would say it was still all a bunch of safe bets, musically, and I guess he didn’t do anything ridiculously strange, but he did show musical diversity and did things he was feeling good about. Not necessarily things that people would expect.
With Wake the singer-songwriter with one of the best vocals in independent music in the US returns very strong. With upbeat alternative (pop)rock songs, sensitive ballads, and some songs with artrock inspiration, he shows more diversity, and the best thing is that he keeps the quality going for 15 songs. Plenty of ear candy for everyone.
It starts with the upbeat “Blinded” which really needs to be a radio single. I wouldn’t be surprised if that would give him the recognition he deserves, even outside of New England where he’s already a big name. (a nationwide tour with Matt Nathanson maybe? since they are friends).
“Since You” had a Graham Colton vibe to me, musically, even though I like Chad’s vocals a lot better. Lyrically it’s not the highlight of the album, even though Chad’s a really gifted lyricist.
The third song, “Madison”, is a pretty clever song. It changes pace several times, and it changes moods too. It’s quite the versatile song. And it’s a song that can appeal to fans of 12 Stones, fans of Hanson, fans of Patrick Park, fans of Hall & Oates, fans of Weezer, well, I could go on for awhile. It’s one of those songs where pretty much everyone can find something in to like.
“Awake In The Morning” is one of those songs that maybe isn’t something that hasn’t been tried before, but even a tried concept can be performed close to perfection. And this is a very good example of that. It’s also a song that shows a Chad Perrone in his comfort zone. He can fill a whole CD with songs like this, and I’ll definitely get it. Lyrically this song is probably in the top 10 of pop/soft rock songs released in the past year. Well, musically too, since it’s performed so well.
From the nice little acoustic intro to the easy-to-relate-to lyrics to the well-balanced piano parts, “Losing Direction” for me instantly was the highlight of the album. Everything just comes together perfectly in this song. The song sounds quite simple in essence, but when something works, something works. Even the backing vocals are great.
“The Next Time I See You” is something that is pretty close to the songs on Chad Perrone’s debut Used to Dream. It functions almost as a little flashback to UTD.
Then it’s finally time to the first real rocker, 2nd if you count “Blinded” (which I guess we should). “Wanting More” is a great mainstream rock song. Once again, not something that hasn’t been done before, but Chad Perrone (probably especially cause of his distinct vocals) gives it his own spin. And like I said before, if you do it well, there’s nothing wrong with taking a tried concept.
Flawlessly Chad continues with the paced “Nantucket”. With plenty of emotion in his voice and amazing vocal harmonies, this is another hidden gem of a song in the world of music. After 1:12 the music gets an extra layer and Chad’s vocals get a little fuller, as he slowly builds up this song. After it reaches a climax he nicely builds it down to a paced outro. Great song. And then we come to the inevitable piano ballad, “Only We’ll Know”. Not my favorite song on the album. It’s good, but only at times Chad reaches into his great creativity. It has a very slow build up. Kudos for changing it up though.
Melee recently had a hit with “Built To Last” and the next song on Wake, “All I Go Looking For” kinda represents the singer-songwriter addition to that kind of song. No, that’s not entirely fair to Chad. It’s more Melee meets Gin Blossoms. Anyway, it just works very very well. It could actually do well as a radio single, I think. It’s not a typical radio format, but it has something that makes it work. It’s not a typical example of a catchy song, but it does stick in your head after a couple of listens.
On “Here It Is” we get some old-fashioned Chad Perrone creativity and energy. At times it reminds me of his Averi times. Back to the alternative sound, good rock beat. For all the American Idol lovers, if mr. Cook would have heard this song, he should’ve considered covering it on his AI run. Though on the other hand, maybe not, cause I don’t think he would’ve been able to top Chad’s own version. It has everything, the right tempo, great vocals, tight musical performance, and the right accents in the right places. Dare I say, another highlight. And yes, this could also do well on radio, even though it’s not really something that we’re hearing on the radio at the moment. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t time for it. It’s been long time for that.
“Give In” is a little more alternative pop song. It shows Chad’s diversity. In a way it kinda reminds me of Michael Jackson’s glory days. I was never a big fan of Michael Jackson, but I don’t think anyone can deny that in his glory days he was a great musician. I’m not saying that this song could’ve been a Michael Jackson song. That wouldn’t be fair to either of the musicians. That would be the same thing as saying that Maroon 5’s music could’ve been Michael Jackson’s music. But place this song somewhere in between those two, musically. I think that gives you an idea of where in the spectrum to place it.
“Mary-Anne”. I think I have something with songs that have something to do with Mary Ann, Mary-Anne, Marianne. All the songs that come to mind are songs I like. This one included. It kinda feels like songs from Keaton Simons, John Mayer, & Matt Nathanson. I just love it, but I’m sure there are plenty of people going to disagree with it.
We’re nearing the end of this great album. “Train Ride” is a more artsy song. It took me quite a bit of listens but it keeps growing on me. Lyrically I love it from here until eternity, but musically it has a lot of subtle things that took me awhile to notice and to let it sink in. At the same time I feel like, ah it’s okay and wow Chad really outdid himself here. So I guess it depends on when you ask me. But there’s no question about how cleverly this song is composed.
The album finale, “Keep Us Around” is a perfect closer. In pretty much every way it ends the album. Mainstream pop/rock song. Not the most special song on the album, but it’s Chad Perrone in tiptop shape.
After listening to the whole thing, we need to come back to the question if Chad lived up to the expectations. I would like to say he absolutely did. With songs like “Wanting More”, “Blinded”, “Train Ride” and especially “Here It Is”, “Awake in the Morning” & “Losing Direction” he has a lot of things going for him. Where “Used To Dream” was without a doubt my favorite independent release of 2006, this might well become its 2008 counterpart. Out of 10 points, this will get a 9.2 (within its genre).