Review Summary: This, without doubt, is one little unpolished gem that needs the chance to shine.
Citizen Swing were:
Myles Kennedy: Vocals/Lead Guitar
Craig Johnson: Rhythm Guitar
Dave Turner: Bass Guitar
Mike Tschirgi: Drums/Percussion
Geoff Miller: Trumpet/Congas/Wise Cracks
During the last 20 years, Spokane Washington has had a thriving Jazz and Blues music scene, it may not be known to much of the public eye but made a lot of musicians get places in bands regardless of their music preferences. One of those bands was Citizen Swing; notable for being the first band Myles Kennedy sang vocals on. The band fused the styles of R&B and Rock from Myles Kennedy’s musical side, to the Jazz and Swing music the band Myles was previously part of, The Cosmic Dust Fusion Band used on a frequent basis.
Despite holding a firm root in Jazz throughout the length of the album many of those said styles do show through and work with the music at hand. Many of the songs have shredding guitar solos by Kennedy to add a dramatic and broad effect to music. Myles’ vocal prowess that we have come to see him use wasn’t that fully developed at this point in his career, but his vocals still impress by moderating pitch; he manages to create different feels on various songs. Often using the influence Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder had on his music more than any later release. Slow and calm vocals, to quiet fast passages of words, the soulful tone Myles puts into this album via his voice is quite unique to him, as he rarely used this style much after Citizen Swing disbanded and evolved into what would become The Mayfield Four.
This album also holds itself high on the instrumental dexterity of not just Kennedy, but the other members of the band too. Mike Tschirgi’s use of cymbal, hi-hat and snare drum beats give off a very relaxed and mellow feel (a common vibe for Jazz). Dave Turner’s terrific ability on Bass is personified with flurries of technical & rhythmic bass lines. Craig Johnson backs up Myles’s guitar perfectly and Geoff Miller’s trumpets adds polish to an already brilliant musical experience by giving off the deep throated punch that Jazz often incorporates. There’s no doubt these guys had immense talent at the instruments they play. This album shows a big chunk of it.
Unlike all the rest of Myles’ work, he didn’t write the lyrics, it sets the album apart from the follow-up “Deep Down” as the lyrics on that album are on very different subject matter. Many of the songs on Cure Me With The Groove deal with love & various social issues. Which has been a common lyrical area for funk and jazz over the years. However, due to the CD not containing a lyric sheet/book and having to listen to the lyrics by ear alone. It can be sometimes hard to figure out what some of the songs actually symbolise and mean.
You See It,
Just That Way and
Get It Together are the heavier songs on the album, predominantly due to the heavy guitar tone used. They incorporate lyrics with fast vocal passages to show the frantic nature and faster pace of the songs, which singles them out from the more melodic songs on the album. The chorus’s are also immensely catchy, which gives a real sense of good rhythm and timing. Hell, Myles even won a guitar contest in 1992 by singing and performing You See It. There’s a video of this, that can be found online that shows what potential he showed at this time during his career, before we all experienced it.
Hideaway and
Where Are You show the more emotional and more romantic side of the bands music, showcasing the power of piano and acoustic guitar to give a nice, relaxing feel. Although Where Are You does get more and more powerful, ending off with a nice guitar solo to reach a dramatic high. Whilst Hideaway keeps at the same type of tone throughout and becomes a song that I can have great thought in.
At 8 songs long, this album does feel very short, but within those songs I hear very well accomplished music by very talented musicians. This could have been quite huge if they had the power to release it globally and if grunge hadn’t come along. These guys decided to not go with the crowd at the time and do something fresh and unique. This album has gained admirers from the people who heard it back in the day and now, it’s not that hard to see why.
I hold this album in the highest regard, but the problems I have with it aren’t the music. This album is VERY hard to find, as it was released on a small record label it got much circulation around the Spokane area but very little else. You’d be lucky to pay out sometimes in excess of over $100 on Amazon if you want a physical copy, but if you’re lucky and do you’re searching you will find some places on the internet where dedicated fans have the whole album up for free; at Myles Kennedy’s discretion of course. The other thing that does annoy me is the cover art… it’s so simplistic and… well, bad! Then again it was self released, but I have seen way better from a self-released album cover however.
This album brings a new sense of fresh air to the music I listen to, for one I haven’t heard an album in recent times that has the energy and vibrancy this has. Over the course of this review, I have found it quite hard to describe Cure Me With The Groove. Mostly due to that the music speaks for itself. It encompasses something different in my music spectrum that has yet to be paired or beaten. This, without doubt, is one little unpolished gem that needs the chance to shine.
A+
