2017 – Vizztone Records
By Phillip Smith;
April 14, 2018
Dragonfly,
the second disc from Long Tall Deb and Colin John is a superb album to
sink ones teeth into. This eleven track
album explores a variety of worldly genres while anchored in American roots, blues
and soul. Deb Landolt aka Long
Tall Deb fills each song with her enchanting vocals, building a connection
to the listener every time, while Colin John wondrously plays
guitar. The main core of musicians on
the album consists of drummer Jimmy Castoe, bassist Melvin Powe,
and Nate Hofman on organ.
Produced by Michael Landolt (Coldplay, O.A.R.) the album also
features several noteworthy guests such as Mick Kolassa, Jeff Jensen,
Michael Hill, Jo El, James Cunningham, Bill Ruffino,
Cliff Starbuck and Chris Stephenson.
There’s a sense of
attitude and fearlessness on the head-banging blues-rocker “On the Way
Down”. From John’s searing guitar
riffs to Deb’s powerful vocals the song rides the wave of Castoe’s
thunder and sticks the landing quite nicely. John breaks out the sitar
to add a taste of India to the spaghetti western ballad of no regret called
“Remember Why (It’s Good He’s Gone)”. The
brutal honesty of the lyrics in “Pull The Pin” cuts through like a broken beer
bottle. It’s an amazing song of
self-reflection and metamorphosis.
With the exception of an
intoxicating cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “Lungs” off his 1969
self-titled album, all songs on Dragonfly are original
compositions. “Lungs” is a little extra
special in that it features a different configuration of musicians than the
rest of the album. For this poignant and
beautifully played cut, Long Tall Deb and Colin John enlist drummer James
Cunningham, guitarist Jeff Jensen, bassist Bill Ruffino, and
organist Chris Stephenson.
The word, “Dragonfly” as
mentioned in the liner notes, is a symbol of transformation and change, and is
the definitive theme to the record itself.
The album’s title track, full of adrenalin-pumping surf guitar is cloaked
in the shadows of an ominous and forbidding atmosphere. This twangy masterpiece is most interesting and
has a strong presence, much akin to the songs Quentin Tarantino
hand-picks for his films. It’s a brilliant song indeed.
The flowing continuity of
Dragonfly smoothly weaves its eleven songs into one very enjoyable
listen.
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