Review Summary: Great vocals and guitar.
The Chimeras are a band from Arizona who perhaps achieved slightly wider fame after they changed their name to The Pistoleros (for copyright reasons). They are also known for originally having ex-Gin Blossoms member Doug Hopkins in their lineup. After Mr. Hopkins died in late '93, the band's sound went from a blues/pop fusion to full-on blues.
Released in 1995, Mistaken For Granted features local Tempe legends the Zubia brothers on vocals and guitar. This album is in a word: great. You probably can't find this album in any stores, but it is available for (free) download on several websites. Just google it.
If we look at some of the highlights: "Gasoline" and "Another Time, Another Place" are without a doubt the best tracks on the album. The band really shows their talent here independent of hit writer Hopkins (he wrote "Hey Jealousy", "Found Out About You", and "Pieces of the Night", among others), as it is obvious to anyone familiar with his style that he composed neither of these two songs. They both are very bluesy with a classic rock influence, though perhaps a dash of alt-rock catharticism mixed in there.
"Gasoline" probably edges out "A.T., A.P." as the best song on the album. What's amazing about it is you can picture lead singer Lawrence Zubia riding on his motorcycle down a dusty, infinite Arizona road. His brother Mark provides fantastic background vocals as he chants "Never say goodbye! Never say goodbye!"
"A.T.,A.P." is the opening track and it does a good job getting the listener to just dive right into the album with its unique guitar hook. It has a quintessential blues/bar rock sound to it. It's probably a little darker than most songs of its genre, as by the end of the song, one can't help but to have a ghostly feeling of emptiness and isolation.
For any fans of early Gin Blossoms stuff, Hopkins's style is seen on many tracks, as he probably composed them. This is apparent on softer tracks like "Tears Fall" and "Somewhere In Between".
There's 11 tracks on here, the vast majority of which are solid. I really don't have any significant complaints about this album. Even if you don't like bluesy bar music, lead vocalist Lawrence Zubia's voice is so captivating, it should appeal to anyone. Like I said, you can easily get this album for free online with perfect sound quality. So why not get it? (Please note: I'm not encouraging pirating, but there's basically no other way to get this album)
