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DAN DeGRADO "THE DRAGON" By The Recordman
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I first heard Dan
DeGrado as part of T-Roy Miller’s now defunct Generation teX on last
year’s excellent CD, “The Gun”. Since that time I have seen Dan perform
numerous times and have been impressed by his many talents. I have been
eagerly awaiting the release of his first effort “The Dragon”, and
I am not disappointed. Dan has assembled a stellar cast of musicians and
is quite capable of holding his own amongst them. The recording starts with “Gonna Have Some Fun”, a great rockin’ blues number. This kind of surprised me because I hadn’t been thinking of Dan as a blues artist, but believe me…he is. The tune starts with a boogie piano riff by former Asleep At The Wheel standout Tim Alexander. Dan jumps in singing about whiskey and rye, going downtown, a red dress, dancing shoes, low lights, rock ’n roll and havin’ fun. The band seems to be doing just that. The instrumental break features short but very hot solos by Mr. Alexander, Dallas’ internationally known blues guitarist Jim Suhler, and the great Kevin Deal blowing a mean harmonica. The rhythm section of Braxton Howle on bass and Greg Hardy on drums keep a steady blues groove going here but also prove to be versatile and capable throughout when the music changes from blues to country to pop. The start of the second track, “Restless Breed”, reminded me of “Knocking on Heaven’s Door”, but this song is much darker. Dan writes and sings of a lawman that tracks down his runaway wife, shoots her, and goes on the lam. The gorgeous musical accompaniment is provided by Dan and Mr. Suhler on guitars, Mr. Alexander on a Hammond B3, and the legendary Tom Morrell (of Hank Thompson’s Brazos River Boys and The Time Warp Tophands) on dobro, plus some soul searing saxophone by Chris McGuire. An all star cast for sure and the song works completely. Then it’s honky-tonk time with “Juvenile Senility”. Penned by Dan in response to his friends that thought he shouldn’t start a music career at his age?? With his talent, why not? Like Dan sings “Hell, I ain’t dead “. On this track T-Roy weighs in with some nice pickin’ (of course) plus Larry White on pedal steel and Kevin sneaks in some more hot harp. This is the style I’m accustomed to hearing from Dan and this is a nice tune. The next track, “If I Have My Way”, is a pop ballad with a blues edge. This is the only song that features both T-Roy and Jim but there is no dual lead face-off (damn), but then it really doesn’t really belong here. Too bad because I would love to hear those two ax-masters jam out someday. The title track is also a ballad. It tells of a man’s struggle between chasing a dream (the dragon) even though it separates him from his other passion, a loving understanding woman. Honestly, at first I didn’t care for this song, but it has grown on me after several listenings. I like the lyrics and the passion of the song, but it also personifies my fault with the album. Dan has a great voice, a big baritone voice, but it is mixed so much in the forefront that it sometimes overtakes or distracts from the song as whole. It’s like when you are at a concert and the singer's microphone is louder than the rest of the band. As I said earlier, I have seen Dan perform many times and I have always admired his vocal pipes. Not once have I heard him “overtake” the stage, except for the occasional run of brilliant guitar playing or him hitting a note vocally that can raise goosebumps. In my heart I wish the vocals on several tracks were mixed more like his live performances. Now I realize that what I call a fault may be the spark that ignites the CD for others. It’s all a matter of personal taste. It is a good song, and once I put aside my initial thoughts and dug deeper into it as a whole, I came away with an new appreciation for it. The music is excellent and Mr. Suhler again provides some guitar fireworks. “Home To Texas” is a southern country rock song with T-Roy and Dan on guitars and the previously mentioned talents on dobro, piano and pedal steel. The artists kind of snake around each other with one starting a solo and another one finishing it. It makes for fun listening. “Love Affair” has become my favorite track on the CD. It starts with Dan singing the blues over a soft bass, drum and organ background. When he gets to the chorus “ I want to have a love affair with you, want to take what’s wrong and make it right”, Mr. Suhler chimes in with more great guitar work which segues into an excellent sax bridge by Mr. McGuire. The sax is reprised later in the song with great effect. Dan does a great job on vocals, too. I listen to a lot of blues, and this is as good as any new blues tune that I have heard this year. Some other highlights on the CD include “Summer Nights in Malibu”, an upbeat country number about a lost love and memories of Malibu. Dan pours so many Blackjacks in the tune I was compelled to join him. Ah, the power of suggestion. The song also features some fine picking by Mr. Miller and the versatile Mr. Alexander on accordion. “ A Dream in Your Heart” and “ Diamonds are Forever” are both ballads that are blessed with the addition of the wonderful Annie Benjamin on harmony and flute. The former song is about going after your dreams, and the latter is a pleasant tribute song in memory of a lost loved one. The lyrics are by Meihle Gardner. Dan has worked hard on this CD and performs nicely as singer, songwriter, and musician. He is also the executive producer and has assembled an awesome group of talented performers and used them well in bringing his vision to realization. Tom Morrell produced the recordings and his many years in the studio are evident. The sound is crisp and clear. There is also nice artwork throughout the package by Diane Tremblay. For a first effort this is better than most. So now I can pour me another whiskey and listen to "The Dragon" and eagerly await Dan’s next CD, because I’d bet the farm that Dan’s going to be around quite awhile making great Texas music. Written by Jim Hughes, June 2002 E-mail me about this review Click here to read The Recordman's bio Visit Dan DeGrado's website
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