Search - Tonio K :: 16 Tons of Monkeys

More gold from Gadfly's vaults

Scott D | Salt Lake, UT USA GOD's toenail | 07/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just like the liner notes say, "16 Tons Of Monkeys" was made for "the fun of it" and that is both a blessing and a curse for this disc. I gave it 5 stars as soon as I cranked "I Handle Snakes" up loud enough to get me evicted. Tonio is backed here by some of Austin's finest lounge lizards (Reese Winans on B-3 plus Bukka Allen on Piano? Sweeeeeet.)and despite the ad-hoc nature of the band, their sheer virtuosity yields moments of sublime genius. Guitarist Jerry Holmes pummels "Stop The Clock" and unloads a punishing flurry on the title track. Drummer Don Harvey and Bassist Scott Garber keep things going at a tidy pace, an amazing feat considering the mercurial nature of Tonio's music. My favorite part of the CD is when Tonio flubs the intro to "WhatA Way To Live." None of that Elvis 'stop the band and start over' stuff. Tonio just laughs and goes with it, a life lesson well learned.
The two additional studio tracks are superfluous, but not without some charm."