Relentless Howe...

#zot2017

Arizona Amp & Alternator - The Open Road (Self-Released, February 02, 2017)

When I found myself with this album in hand, I frankly wondered, "Where did this come from?" I mean: a new album by Howe Gelb under the name Arizona Amp & Alternator just suddenly popping up from the sands of the desert while in the meantime he was recording and releasing two albums of "standards." Moreover, the project had been buried under the desert sands for more than a decade, since the release of the first album in 2005, which was truly a small gem featuring interesting and precious collaborations with artists like M. Ward or Scout Niblett. This one, more or less, collects a series of tracks recorded over the last five years. It's a kind of mix that, in the end, Howe skillfully pulls off: because even this non-formula ultimately convinces you of its worth, as the songs, interpretations, and arrangements work beautifully, regardless. Whether it's studio recordings or live ones ("Bottom Line Man"), solo or in company—sometimes with Lonna Kelley ("Left Of Center") and sometimes with Jason Lytle from Grandaddy ("Left")—the songs are beautiful and convincing, even as varied in content as Howe Gelb's astonishingly vast and limitless repertoire. Aside from the songs he wrote in the first person, I think he could practically play every classic standard of American song at the tip of his fingers, and it's precisely those impromptu interpretations that truly showcase his greatness better than anything else.

#desertrock #giantsand #howegelb

The Open Road | Howe Gelb