Welcome to the EvO:R Independent CD Reviews Section.
In this section we will examine, explore, analyze, scrutinize, dissect and critique all music submitted from any independent musician worldwide. It is here we welcome all artists to submit their unique production for our review teams honest opinion and publication of such.

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We strongly believe that if your music is 'not up to par', be prepared, because we will declare it as such. If your music is great, however, you can be guaranteed we will spread the word. We will hold nothing back. That is our promise to you.
The EvO:R CD Review Team

“Over his ten year career with The Nerve, Randy cultivated a tremendous amount of experience. The Nerve self-released two albums, an EP, and three videos. Their 3rd and final album was released by veteran indie label, Heyday Records (Marty Willson-Piper, The Church, The Surfaris, David J) and produced by renowned guitar hero, Bumblefoot (Guns N' Roses). Subsequently, Randy was invited to play guitar in Mr. Foot's touring band for his 2005 tour of Europe. On December 16th, 2006 The Nerve played its final show in New York City.”

“In the short time since then, Randy has quickly established himself as a strong solo artist. In a far departure from the punk/grunge leanings of his old band, Mr. Stern has evolved into a much more seasoned, subtle sound and roots oriented approach. His new songs contain an elemental simplicity and maturity developed and expanded from his earlier period with the band. Songs such as "Home", "Better Days", "Rita" and "In the Midnite" reflect themes of redemption, empowerment, relationships, and hope in the face of adversity. His live performances have been described as heartfelt, immediate, and soulful.”

“Inevitably, this has all culminated in the release of "Give". The album was produced by Hugh Pool, known for his work with The National, Patti Smith, Rufus Wainwright and legendary blues artist Hubert Sumlin. Once again, Randy is working with Heyday Records.” This is a foot tappin’ record. It fits very nicely in the Rock & Roll/ Roots Rock genre. It is very reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen and Ian Hunter, especially the first two tracks, ‘Deeper and Deeper’ and ‘Better Days.’ The third track, ‘Rita’ is a country stomper with a nice little groove. Not my favorite track but a good divider between the first two tracks and ‘The Night’, which reminds me of an early Thin Lizzy rocker.

And finally, the title track, ‘Give’, adds the soul to this record just before it takes a dive to some lesser songs. But all in all the record kept me listening with an open ear and I’m glad it did or I wouldn’t have heard what I feel is the best tune on the record, ‘Ain’t Dead Yet,’ which made me want to hear the whole record again to make sure I didn’t miss something. The production is top notch, of course. How could it not be with Hugh Pool at the helm?

From the CD- sample songs from the CD below. All songs are linked to the artist's page on CDBaby.

 / Deeper and Deeper  / Better Days  / Rita  / The Night  / Give  / The Only Woman  / Into Your Heart  / Home  / Life is Good  / Simple  / In the Midnite  / Ain't Dead Yet / 

Conclusion:

Randy Stern has an enjoyable voice and the man plays a number of instruments on the record. The guitar work is nice. It’s blues by nature and helps sing the tune Randy is singing. Randy’s backup group is tight, as well. As with many of the most recent reviews I have written, this is not something I would normally choose to listen to as a matter of personal taste. But this is, really, a great record by a fine artist.

Listeners of Bruce Springsteen, Ian Hunter, early David Bowie, and even some very early Thin Lizzy would probably really enjoy Randy Stern –Give. I have to give this disc an A+ on its full sounding production and performances. Though I didn’t think all the songs were great, my opinion to someone else’s on this one may be apples and oranges. So I’m going out on a limb to say this record gets an A. I do feel that I know what is good, regardless if it something I would choose to listen to or not.

Jimmy Caterine...EvO:R Reviewer.

About the reviewer- Jimmy Caterine has numerous album credits to his name. He is most noted as founder, guitarist and co-writer for 80’s metal quartet, Sacred Rite (Capitol Records.) He has worked with top name professionals in the industry. This would include Grammy Award winning producer Sonny Limbo (Bertie Higgins) and publishing coordinator Randall Wixen (Fleetwood Mac, Jackson Brown.)

Aside from his original projects he did a 3 month stint playing guitar for the live stage production of Rocky Horror Picture Show in 1987. He was the guitarist for MGM recording artist and power house vocalist, Sami Jo Cole (Tell Me a Lie) in 1995. He has also played with classic rock tribute act Time Machine, on the Las Vegas convention circuit in ’97 and ’98.

Following a car accident in 2001 Jimmy Caterine took a break from performing. He was reluctant to return to the stage due to PTSD. In the years that followed Jimmy took an inward journey to confront his own personal demons. While away he had to come to terms with the many changes in the music industry. During his hiatus he created and released two independent solo CD’s.

In 2007 Jimmy recorded and released a reunion CD with Sacred Rite. Currently Jimmy owns Soulaire Sound which is a mobile recording/live sound reinforcement company in Phoenix, AZ. He performs regularly with his organic jazz sextet, Dream Chemistry.

If you’d like to know more about Jimmy Caterine you can visit the following web sites:
DreamChemistry.com
Caterine-Music.com
SoulaireSound.com
SacredRite.com

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