Search - Wertico :: Stereonucleosis

Powerful, bombastic, slightly cheesy . . .

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 11/14/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

". . . but overall, quite affecting. Definitely one of the better fusion albums around, especially when compared to bland efforts such as Andy Summers's latest (Earth + Sky).



No matter what one thinks of this genre--not one of my favorites--it must be admitted that this is a killer band. Leader Wertico has quite an arsenal of moves on drums and percussion; John Molder knows the blues ("The Eleventh Hour") and plays up quite a storm on electric guitar, plus lays down some very tasty acoustic licks ("What Would the World Be"); Eric Hochberg gets a lot out of his double-bass (check out his solo number, "First, Bass"), sounding not unlike Miroslav Vitous; Brian Peters shines on a variety of string instruments, including fretless bass, violin, electric guitar, and Ebow; and Barbara Wertico deftly handles an impressive array of keyboards.



Together, they craft a tough-minded, generally rockin' mixture of jazz, blues, folk, country, and rock stylings. Favorites include "We Needed the Rain," a frenetic, almost New Wave-sounding number, the aforementioned deep-delved blues, "The Eleventh Hour," the artlessly affecting, gorgeous ballad, "What Would the World Be," and especially the Crazy Horse-ish rocker "Almost Sixteen," with is odd time signature, soulful worldless vocals, and way bloozy e-guitar solo.



Nothing revolutionary here, but a very creditable outing in a genre filled with mail-in-your-chops playing and stale, isipid, cliche-ridden muzak.



Fast becoming a left-field favorite, and definitely worth checking out.



4 and 1/2 stars."

All About Rythmn

Ronald Weel | Watertown, WI | 05/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is a quote,unquote "solo" effort from former Pat Metheny
Drummer, Paul Wertico and his band. Mr. Wertico is a consummate
percussionist,to say the least. If any of you readers had the pleasure of seeing the 'Pat Metheny Group' perform when Paul
was on board, or on any of the related CD's, you'll note that he
made an extraordinary impact on the the sound and style of the group at that time. On Metheny's "Still Life (Talking), CD there
is a cut entitled "Last Train Home", which is (unfortunately)
overplayed by many Jazz radio stations, but demonstrates the
unbelievable rythmic abilities of Paul Wertico on the drums.
Just try taking a couple if sticks and keeping up the consistent
rythmn that he's asked to do with 'brushes' on that song. It's
5:38 of near "perfect" rythmic beat! Unbelievable concentration!
Yes, this CD is kind of a 'stretch' for most...unless they're
a percussionist at heart. But Mr. Wertico seems to be simply
expanding his percussionist surroundings with more of his unique
ideas and style. More power to him."

All Over Maddness!!

Abe Froman | Chicago | 05/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This record is amazing! It must be listened to at max volume. Nothing beats a record that has more than one style, but staying true to sounding good!"