Steve Angel Project
Find My Way

Review By Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
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  If Steve Angel could find his way, "The Good Life" could be right around the corner. The thing is, musically speaking; I think the man has found his way. He lays his own road down on Find My Way.

I really like Angel's style with music and lyrics. His abilities alone are enough to record an album, never mind all the rest of the contributors on this CD. Angel sings, plays guitar, trumpet, accordion, and the keyboards. A host of very capable musicians fills in the gaps with bass, drums, background vocals, sax, and trombone, making this outing a very enjoyable and lively recording. Something about Angel's vocals sets you at ease. His style is conversational yet his ability to sing and bring it home to the heart is his greatest asset. Although his best voice and range is not on this recording, it was purposeful, and once you hear the tracks it will all make sense. One of his other gigs is being a professional tenor opera singer so what you are hearing is an entirely different side of the man and his voice. His style is appealing, kind of like country blues with earthy tones delivered by well-traveled soul.

On the 10 tracks found on this CD Angel covers the gamut of human emotions and does it with several styles of music. Rock, pop, jazzy interludes, and even a little rap on the closing track "My Playground" is in between the rocking hook laden guitar and spacey keyboards. This is the strongest track on the album because of all the styles he effectively melds into it. I heard rock, rhythm and blues, the rap like passages that emphasize the lyrics, and some sounds that would even qualify as space rock. It is quite the accomplishment musically and it all happens in less than six minutes. This is not to take away anything from the rest of the album, which holds its own very well throughout the run of the disc. In fact, I cannot say there is a weak link in anything that Angel presents here. "The Good Life" is a strong track, it is a rock-pop gem that has an overpowering rhythm and feel-good-all-over vibe to it, it calls to you like mid afternoon dose of caffeine, and in effect gets the job done by reawakening the spirit within, kind of like the Dunkin Donuts slogan "bring yourself back." "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" could stand on the lyrical content alone but in the end is a good song that hangs around for a while, like the after taste of a good drink or some tasty food. Every song has some element or aspect that you will remember, which will have you reaching for the CD again to re-listen.

I get the feeling that Steve Angel is a straight up kind of guy, so what you get on this CD is all of him, nothing more, and nothing less. The production aspects are good, the band is tight, and Angel does a good job steering the ship into inviting waters without drowning the passengers. I would be willing to get onboard for another cruise, without a doubt. I really enjoyed this CD, and more and more with each listen.

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