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Robin Gottfried, "Unfinished Portrait"By Brent Hallenbeck / writer - Burlington Free Press Remember soft rock? Burlington multi-instrumentalist Robin Gottfried does. "Unfinished Portrait" is awash with the sorts of harmonies and keyboards that Billy Joel and Todd Rundgren knew so well in the 1970s. Gottfried's earnest singing carries the disc, but guest vocalist Amber deLaurentis of Burlington takes charge on the pretty ballad "Just One Day." |
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Robin Gottfried - Pelican Crash DiveBy Rikks Revues / writer - Teresa Liao
With eight songs on the album, Robin Gottfried is able to display all of his talents as a music man - a well-rehearsed singer with an ear for perfection. There's no room for sloppiness in this album. The notes are hit and the beats are adhered to. On the other hand, lyrics and the melody are not nearly as regimented. Robin Gottfried lets the songs take him where they will. Like most albums out there, Gottfried has included several love songs. "Stay With Me" is one of those slow one-line chorus ballads that you roll your eyes to if you're not feeling that particular sentiment, but will tear-up to if you are. It's the song that you'll hear during the scene in a big motion picture where the couple is sitting at a fancy restaurant debating whether they should stay together or not. "(Got to Get Your) Loving' Off My Mind" is a bit more direct with a catchy beat and good rhythm. As for the other songs, they're just quirky enough to almost fall out of the category. "Just By Chance" isn't a different kind of love ballad because of the song itself, it's unique because of its deliberate delivery. With the added high notes and guitar licks, the song is very entertaining. One song up the play list is "Tango of Your Life". The song may be about love, but it has more to do with the behaviors of love rather than the emotion itself. Listen to the song once or twice and Robin Gottfried will have you remembering those awkward junior high school years. The other 'almost' love song is "Once Upon a Woman". I almost want to put the song in the angry country love song pile, but it's got a little bit too much rock & roll and a lot more humor, a hard thing to do considering some of the country songs out there. "Pelican Crash Drive", my favorite song on the album, again is an 'almost' love song. I'm not entirely sure what a pelican crash drive is, but the song is great fun to listen to. "New York City" is a surprisingly melancholy song about chasing dreams in the big city. "Rehearsals", the only on the album song not written by Gottfried, is a somber piece about life and death. Robin Gottfried's headshot on the album jacket says it all. Pelican Crash Dive delivers everything of this man. It's nothing too dressed up, just good old-fashioned rock n' roll music with a slightly unconventional twist that you can enjoy. The only word of advice to Gottfried and his music is, "Let us hear more." |
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ROBIN GOTTFRIED, CARRY YOU (Self-released, CD) 2003 Robin Gottfried is a master of the earnest, mid-tempo ballad...A talented multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Gottfried sings and plays guitars, keyboards, bass and percussion, and has a few guests on horns, drums and vocals. He also produced, arranged and engineered his whole record. The arrangements are strong and uplifting, the piano playing and singing especially good. Smooth production highlights include layered backing vocals and a horn section on a couple of tracks. The songs are easy to like and fun... COLIN CLARY - Seven Days Vermont |
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Robin Gottfried & Friends
deserves a visit. Steve Lemcke, Burlington Free Press 3/30/00 For fans of true adult-contemporary sounds, locally grown as they are, this disc is something to marvel at. Gottfried sets himself up as writer/producer of this material very effectively. Passing back and forth between being the Donald Fagen of Steely Dan (with a Walter Becker guitar sound on "Seniorita"), his other role as producer allows him to step aside and let others perform. I can imagine "No Reply" and "Our Love Will Never Fade Away," with their diva ballad qualities, being scooped up by Anita Baker/Faith Hill types looking for that next big-hit love song...It's just that I wouldn't be surprised if you heard these songs someday on somebody else's record. "Burst Your Bubble," with its prog guitar-funk tendencies without the accompanying vocals, sounds like a track off of an old Jeff Beck album. With its gospel tones, "That's What I Need," written with Jon Fath, could be on the next Disney soundtrack. "Laundered Shirts & Photographs" has Elvis Costello/Joe Jackson written all over it. Don't get me wrong. The CD is fine the way it is. All the performers do an admirable job, and the musicians in the various configurations maintain a sense of continuity throughout. Gottfried is careful to keep the songs differentiated over the course of the album, so the disc never falls into a bog of middle-aged malaise. He puts all the parts in their proper places: tasteful piano and a range of saxophones, the strong vocals of Ana Guigui, along with The Friends Choir, give it that smoothly produced feel so integral to the adult sound. But it's clear the success of this album is the production work and arrangements of Gottfried himself. Maybe it's the recent Academy Awards still rattling in my brain, but these songs seem to have the right stuff for an effective big-show production number. These are pop songs in the tradition of all those writers of songs that go unheralded; the ones that create the songs for all those adult pop stars who find themselves on the charts. Call me a softie. Call me old. But "Robin Gottfried & Friends" proves that strong craftsmanship (even in a genre that can usually cause my blood to curdle) still manages to speak for itself and say "nice job." |
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Robin Gottfried and Friends CD
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