Sitting On The Wind is Bud Buckley’s latest CD. It is a 6 song EP produced by Helen Avakian and Scott Petito. Helen and Scott have found a way once again to let the songs breathe and speak for themselves. It’s just enough production without being sparse, allowing the listener to connect the dots musically.
The backing band is superb! Josh Peni lends his talents to drums, Beth Reineke sings some beautiful background vocals, Deni Bonet handles the violin and viola, Helen sings and plays acoustic guitar, and Scott rounds out the songs on electric and upright bass, acoustic guitar, and percussion.
Bud’s music is always honest. I was first introduced to his songs through his last CD, It’s About Time, so I was hoping for more of the same when I turned up the volume on his latest project. Needless to say, I was not disappointed!
“Frozen Shadows” opens up the proceedings. With it’s descriptive lines of a relationship on the rocks, and it’s slow, bluesy feel, the listener gets a taste of the musical landscape to follow.
“A Way” is the modern day protest song without being preachy. It begins with the clever line, Evacuate all sea life…red tide advances, and ends with the even more important, We have to stay to save our skins. I love the reggae feel in the chorus and the creative bass work by Scott Petito.
“Move Me” is a cooler Sade song. With its Bossa Nova vibe and literary lyrics, it grabbed me from the first listen. In an age of emails, texts, tweets, etc., the words are a welcome return to language and the art of connecting feelings to actual words.
“Sit On The Wind” has to be my favorite. I am a sucker for a love song. On the back of the CD it is simply described as, Cathy and I take flight. It’s refreshing to see and hear an honest interpretation of a relationship. The finger-picking guitar combined with the violin work is beautiful and only adds to the emotion.
The CD ends with the songs “Jacob’s Hurricane” and “Go If You Want To”. If you like a country-rocker, then you will enjoy “Jacob’s Hurricane”. It has a Jimmy Buffett delivery and the wonderful tag, Bring on the hurricane! Deni Bonet plays violin throughout the recording but she really shines on this tune.
“Go If You Want To” shows Bud’s work ethic. He will give you everything musically and emotionally. His vocals are everything that is great about Dylan with an added attention to melody and craft. I will go for now and end this review, but I will be back to listen to this CD again and again.
Artist: Bud Buckley
