Thursday, December 28, 2006

CD Review: Frankie 45 & Ben Martin

By Todd Maternowski

Frankie 45's self-titled debut album is the first production effort from this brand-new band, formed only a few months ago from the ashes of greaser-punk band Spector 45. In general, expectations for this album were not high: the combination of a freshly-minted band, a change of musical direction and the young ages of the members usually is a recipe for audial disaster. Fortunately, this album is a comfortable, mature and accomplished effort.

And why shouldn't it be? As Spector 45, singer/guitarist Frankie Campagna performed over 200 shows before he turned 20, sharing the stage with some of the country's best-known punk and rockabilly acts. Their sound was steeped in the traditions of old-school punk and rockabilly, from The Ramones to early Elvis to Dallas' own Reverend Horton Heat.

As Frankie 45, however, the band has taken a drastic shift in their work, away from lightning-fast guitar strumming and tough-guy lyrics, instead heading for a clearer, more honest sound. The new music, with Frankie Campagna shedding the aggressive punk stylings of his old band, is high-energy pop on acoustic guitar, similar to Mojo Nixon's hyperactive strumming and enthusiastic singing. Thanks in large part to percussionist Ben Martin's lively drumming, every song on the album --including the "slow" romantic ballads-- has a great bounce to it, making it very easy on the ears and an enjoyable listen.

Most of the songs, not surprisingly, are love songs set to up-tempo pop sound, with Frankie's soft-edged vocals gently laid over the guitar and drums. This is not to say that the album is light and fluffy in a bad way: while this is a far cry from Tom Waits, Frankie 45's singer-songwriter style is much more in tune with Buddy Holly or the later Beatles' acoustic gems. In fact, track #2, "The Lake", seems ripped straight from Buddy Holly's highly infectious, enthusiastic style. Track #6, "On the Road", sounds like something you might hear on an oldies station, an old school 50s-style rock song.

The album is at its best, though, when it takes this catchy pop ballad formula and adds a little something extra: for example, the chord progressions in "Yo Ho Ho" are impressive without becoming unwieldy. Or take "Don't Care", which takes the greaser mentality from his previous band and transforms it into some sort of rebellion-fueled punk acoustic track, complete with hyperactive psychobilly strumming and surprisingly angry lyrics. This punk-to-musician metamorphosis theme also runs through track #4, "Wound Up"-- acting as the "slow" song, a McCartney-esque romantic ballad, Frankie 45 sings about the transformation from leather-clad, switchblade-wielding teenager to love-struck singer. Perhaps my favorite track on the album was #8, "Take Back Your Heart", a crafty little song about one-night stands that sounds similar to the Flat Duo Jets.

This is a very addictive album: high-energy popabilly music stripped down to its most basic forms, without the added bells and whistles -- just an honest, emotional musical effort.

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