SAUL ZONANA - Phatso [CD]

Zonana grew up listening to his older brother's Beatles, Who, and Police records. These influences peek through like sun on a cloudy day via Zonana's selective use of melodies, chords, harmonies and razor-sharp, Lennon-like vocals. It's evident even at first listening (and more so after two, three or four goes) to his seventh solo release BLUE MONKEY that Saul Zonana's got soul, baby. The man's a clever musician and, dollars to doughnuts, a kick-ass live performer. But let's stick with the studio albums for a moment. There are always new sounds to grab on to though the overall concept is always wrapped in the same Zonana package of unforgettable songs. This is not your run of the mill one good song and the rest filler situation here people. This is one of the few times that we're not over using the word artist. In other words Zonana, to me, was born in the wrong generation of musicians. In a perfect world we'd be thinking of this guy right along the bands that he was raised with. In 2004, the catchy song Holiday, from his 2003 WAVES CD, managed to get steady rotation on Clear Channel radio stations which launched Zonana into major regional success but nothing more. The film 'Chasin It' which features Zonana aired on PBS and Lifetime channels. The video for his song 'Bette' from the 2001 release GUINEA PIGS also was heavily viewed. His music also appears in several TV drama's and feature films. The latest film being Matthew Broderick's WONDERFUL WORLD. So Zonana is clearly a full time musician. He's kept busy as a live performer touring with the likes of Adrian Belew, Crash Test Dummies, Lisa Loeb, Ace Frehely and countless others. In the studio this guy is a sound smith. A musical autodidact, Zonana is often playing most if not all of the instruments on any given track. His self produced music has him always carving out something interesting and seems to keep adding instruments that he plays with a passion. Zonana never hesitates though to call on well known players such as Aaron Comess (Spin Doctors) and Adrian Belew (King Crimson) to name a few. After listening to BLUE MONKEY about four times now I can honestly say that this artist started out well six albums ago and just keeps getting better. His next release entitled PHATSO (where and why does he come up with these titles) is apparently going to be available on April 18th based on information from his web site. I would be surprised if this next effort didn't go even further down the road of awesome. Lately Zonana has appeared in several instructional video's for the new Moog guitar, which is a featured instrument on his latest album. He has an entire section of his web site that talks about the equipment he uses in the studio. He also has been spotted playing in a popular Beatles tribute show entitled 'Mystery Trip'. Not surprising considering the Fab influence that is easily heard in his music. If you want to hear something memorable and original which is hard to come by in these times, keep your eyes and ears on Saul Zonana.