Track44 - Prove It

www.track44band.com

Boston based Track44 recently released their debut CD, Prove it. The band is essentially a duo, but guitarist/vocalist Jimmy Pircio and keyboardist Dan Sevush recruited drummer Joe Bellomo, bassist Steve Dubois, background singer Kristin Fonseca, background singer and percussionist Paul Gallo, and fiddler Wendy Mittelstadt to complete the project. Along with Pircio and Sevush, Gallo produced and engineered the recordings.

Be prepared for a straightforward serving of the blues in some of the nine tracks (and one surprise) presented here, chased with an even flow of traditional musicianship. The first slide guitar note in the opening song, "Can't Take It Back," initiates the display of respect and adoration that these guys have for traditional blues. When more instruments are added, the lethargic yet catchy riff is supplemented by a funky drive, one that adds more of a contemporary blues sound to the initial acoustic feel. With that said, if pure-in-spirit acoustic atmosphere is one's preference, further into the CD is "Ten Years Passed." This delta blues gem stays acoustic throughout, and contains more interesting slide from Pircio.

A New England blue-jazz feel converges with Bourbon Street in "I Wonder Why." Sevush pulls all the stops on both organ and piano, displaying a sundry flair on both. Pircio's piercing guitar solo responds to the 'you treat me so bad' lyrics with corresponding emotion, yet all the while, the rhythm section keeps the music firmly entrenched in tradition.

The CD's music contains an unrefined earthiness in places, especially in the more acoustic and traditional material. The sound authenticates the blues feel. But on the other end of the spectrum, the CD's title song and its follower are examples of precision in arrangement and production. Drummer Joe Bollomo struts along in an appealing groove in "Prove It." In a performance that's solid and tight, the piano and guitar solos are concise and dynamic, and the background vocal adds a nice element to the recording. "Land On Me" is a poignant country blues with a colorful piano and slide arrangement.

The last three tracks take tradition into the bluesrock generation. "Even Angels Get The Blues" possesses an incredible air of Clapton and Cream, especially the song's potent riff, the solo as well. Pircio's licks are astoundingly suggestive of the era. "What's Up With That" is in that Cream mode, too. The rhythm section gets downright prominent and subterranean in these songs, giving them that trio punch. Pircio's singing voice sometimes evokes a Mayall sound and style in places, which is suggestive of a different Clapton era.

The final track, "Love Looks A Lot Like You," follows suit with the previous two, with more catchy rhythmic grooves and excellent organ and guitar solos. This track ends with a surprising acoustic piece that's about as pure as blues tradition gets. Not desiring to be the spoiler, I'll keep it that way for surprise sake.

Prove It should do just that, prove to fans everywhere that Track44 is a blues band to reckon with. It's a successful debut release from a couple of strangers who grew to be friends after meeting one evening at Johnny D's in Somerville, Ma., where the idea to create traditional music was originally spawned.