Blogs N' Roses Exclusive Review: Randy Blossom "Bring It On"
Randy Blossom…who is this international man of mystery? It sure beats the hell out of the Blogs N Roses staff. What little we know about this enigma comes from Blossom’s Myspace page. This one man rock and roll machine from San Fransisco is rarely seen outside of stage getup. Throw Randy in a family portrait and I’d bet a c-note that he’d be brandishing a guitar and positioned in a rocker pose. And I thought I was the only one.
When he’s not striking more poses than KISS at mirror store, Blossom churns out an endless stream of DIY rock n’ roll on his second album Bring It On. This sophomore effort is blessed with no less than fourteen tracks and seven kick-ass shots of the signature Randy Blossom guitar pose. Lead guitar- Randy Blossom, rhythm guitar – Randy Blossom, bass guitar – Randy Blossom, acoustic guitar – Randy Blossom, vocals – Randy Blossom, drums…four guys who aren’t Randy Blossom. Hey, Eastwood said it best, “a man’s got to know his limitations.”
Blossom throws in enough variety to keep this fourteen track album moving. Staying true to his preening guitar-hero image, the album starts with its most barnstorming track, “I Love Your Jam.” The opening salvo is rounded out by the title track and “Dancin’ on the Outskirts,” a song about a party, accidental drug ingestion and loose females. Then Blossom showcases his artistic range and guitar chops in the vast middle section with highlights being the supercharged flamenco workout “Loca Bonita” (think Robbie Krieger at a bull fight,) “The Blue” and the sitar-tinged “Time to Rock.” Who could get away with sitar on a rock song? Brian Jones and this guy. Blossom then dismounts with the instrumental “Lost Sunrise.”
Is it too much music or not enough? Hell, I can’t figure it out, but the fourteen tracks don’t sound as laborious as they look. And speaking of labor, Randy certainly put plenty in himself taking credits for most of the musical performances, the writing, recording, production and artwork. Bravo Randy.
BNR pics: "I Love Your Jam," "Dancin’ On The Outskirts," "Loca Bonita," "The Blue" and "Gypsy Queen"
Blogsnroses
I read the review of Bring it on and I have to say I really enjoyed it. While somewhat of a slight roasting was done about my photos and one man army approach it made for an interestingly good and funny read. I think that is what is called good journalism! I did have a couple singers assist me on Bring it on. I was fortunate to find and have Mike Hartwig (from the Concord based band Liquid) lend me his excellent voice on tracks I love your jam, Don’t take my Freedom, and When we’re together. Al Silveira sings on The Blue, a remake from my first CD Randy Blossom Standing in the middle of your mind. I was surprised to read that you thought I used a Sitar for the song Time to Rock. I have never played a Sitar in my life! I used all electric guitars on Time to rock in standard tuning. I did use a violin bow for the solo on time to rock. In other words I did my Jimmy Page thing during this solo. For me it's a huge compliment that you would think I used an exotic instrument such as a Sitar to make my music. This means to me that my music is conjuring up images in your thinking process about how I am achieving my sound, which I think is awesome.
If your interested to hear some of my jams stop by my myspace page at
www.myspace.com/randyblossom
Randy Blossom Bring it on is available at www.cdbaby.com. Individual tracks from Bring it on are available at itunes, Napster, and other popular music distribution sites.
Thank you very much for the review.
Randy