Syd Arthur
Syd, The Karaoke Kid
© 1997 carpuzi muzi (634479187032)
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The premiere disc from actor John Kapelos' alter ego, Syd Arthur co-produced by Wings drummer Denny Seiwell. This wildly eclectic cd reflects Kapelos' remarkable range of Jazz, Rock, Brazillian, Cajun, Big Band, Folk and 60's Rock.
tracks
- 1 Syd, the Karaoke Kid
- 2 There's Always a Girl
- 3 The Record Store
- 4 Seven Ways From Sunday
- 5 When the Drum Machine Was King
- 6 Inimitable Spin
- 7 Years
- 8 Find Myself
- 9 1974
- 10 Yeah Dan
- 11 The Invention
- 12 Syd, Reprise
- 13 When Beautiful People Do Ugly Things
- 14 The Starlet
- 15 Let's Split
- 16 The Record Store Pt ii
- 17 Looking For Love
- 18 When the Drum Machine Was King - Finale
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SYD, THE KARAOKE KID is the "soundtrack" from John Kapelos' one-person musical. The disc is filled with great songs. The sounds are pure, rich and soulful. If you love Rock, Jazz and Folk then you've got to have this in your collection.
+++This Is Music That Defies Categorization+++
JK ON SYD:
Growing up in the sixties my ear was surgically attached to the radio. Music was a part of my daily life.
In my teens I drifted away from music and got involved in the theatre. Acting soon became my sole focus.
It's the early nineties and I'm walking down Pico street late at night. I hear this, sort of,... singing. It got me to thinking. "Yeah...singing. I should do a one-man musical - with a lot of people!", I laughed. The singing drew closer. "Yeah.. an elaborate over-the-top-parody-of-a-musical...with the most incredible players around.. hmm...what form would satisfy these requirements and justify my desire to do this?" As I mused on this I wandered in the bar from whence the warbling originated. It was dead-empty save a trio of really -loaded sorority sisters making hash of, "The Greatest Love" in the worst possible way.
They bleated to pre-recorded tracks ... hmm ... pre-recorded tracks ...
... and then it hit me - WHAMMO - , "PRE-RECORDED TRACKS!! DO YOUR OWN TRACKS!!! Yeah...transform this insipid-karaoke-thing into a, dare I say, a....theatrical form!"
Light bulb safely on, I split the bar and embarked on my journey.
SYD, THE KARAOKE KID became a three-year labor of love recorded mostly in Los Angeles with some tracking done in my hometown of London, Canada. There is even a strange and sorry tale of a "lost" London, England Abbey Road Session tape! The whole sojourn was intense and exhilarating. On this long and circuitous route I played with some unforgettable musicians and I got one helluva album.
There are Four Major Forces on SYD.
The first is my Co-producer and friend, Denny Seiwell. Denny played with Paul McCartney in WINGS. On SYD Denny plays luscious, swinging hard rockin' drums on every track. He is a certified rock & roll legend who deserves the respect and recognition he is currently being given. His work here is deep. Denny did much more than play on this album. He "inhabits" the music. Very profound to see up close and just as profound to hear. And it's all here on this album. I'm honored and extremely lucky that he was with me on the voyage.
The Second Force is the brilliant orchestrator from The Simpsons, Dell Hake. Dell arranged and orchestrated most of the tracks and without his fine craftsmanship the music wouldn't be so glib.
Force Number Three is major-league-mensch, Gary Lux. He's billed as , "mixer" but was in fact Gary more. He has produced many acts (including my favourite, The Manhattan Transfer) and Gary's got light year wide ears and is the reason the CD has its, "sonic groove".
Major Force Four: Associate Producer, Shelly Goldstein. Throughout the whole process Shelly was a real creative and emotional beacon. She offered her wit, taste, talent and expertise and was generous throughout.
THE PLAYER'S ON THIS ALBUM ARE TRULY AMAZING!
I'm dead-serious when I say these are, "the finest players in the world". They really put out on this record.
Masterful Wizards Of The Guitar.
The remarkable-all-round-genius, Tim May is all over this album. He lays out the tastiest classic retro-solo on SEVEN WAYS FROM SUNDAY. He mesemerizes in THE RECORD STORE and makes you weep in WHEN BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE DO UGLY THINGS. His twelve-string on SEVEN WAYS FROM SUNDAY is soft and warm and his astronomical overdubbed tight solo work in 1974 tell you plain and simple that, "Tim May is a guitar God!".
Rusty Anderson makes you see Jimi 'n Vishnu rolled into one fatty as he rips your ears off in SYD, THE KARAOKE KID. A great solo that starts off the SYD experience.
Not so straight from Doobieland and Steely Danville is Jeff "Skunk" Baxter playing his signature steel guitar on LOOKING FOR LOVE.
The great Bob Mann swings trippingly with Vibraharpist Emil Richards on INIMITABLE SPIN.
World Class Bass Players - Yup, we got 'em!
Paul Bushnell of Edna Swap and The Commitments record plays a major league funky axe. Check him out on the title track, SYD, THE KARAOKE KID.
Jerry Watts lays out the phattest sound your ears will ever hear in FIND MYSELF.
Veteran Jazz bassists John Leithan and Ken Wilde lay it all out in WHEN BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE DO UGLY THINGS , WHEN THE DRUM MACHINE WAS KING and INIMITABLE SPIN.
Legend Chuck Domanico weighs in on LET'S SPLIT and LOOKING FOR LOVE.
Horn Players, We've Got Horn Players !
Ray Pizzi is another in a long list of legends on this album. Ray played with Henry Mancini for many years. On WHEN BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE DO UGLY THINGS his baritone solo soars with emotional soulfulness that pierces me every time I hear it. He then plays some lip-smacking beautiful flute with 'a most groovy' solo in THE INVENTION.
My cousin, the irrepresible Jamie Mitges, blows a mind-numbing classic flute solo on 1974 where he also plays tenor sax.
Gary Herbig plays the soprano on WHEN THE DRUM MACHINE WAS KING and it makes you wanna holler!
On the SEVEN WAYS FROM SUNDAY fade Charley Davis plays a piccolo trumpet that would put a smirk on the fifth Beatle's craggy countenance.
Ron King wails on WHEN THE DRUM MACHINE WAS KING - FINALE. Breathtaking!
(A la Barry White) "And Now Ladies and Gentlemen it is my distinct honor to introduce,' The Ladies of SYD, THE KARAOKE KID'. Put your hands two-gether."
I was very fortunate to have Jennifer Leigh Warren sing her heart and lungs out on THERE'S ALWAYS A GIRL.
The fine Judith Owen is sublime in THE STARLET.
Terry Wood is so smooth and oh-so-bossa-nova-sexy on,THE INVENTION,
Andreae Robinson on THE RECORD STORE part ii is just perfect.
Don't Shoot The Piano Players!
Steve Porcaro of Toto glory is also all over this disc. From the pan flutes in FIND MYSELF to his Brazillian piano solo in THE INVENTION to the mellotron and harpsichord in SEVEN WAYS FROM SUNDAY Steve is one fine musician who has given this album real depth.
Red Young only adds more heft when he steps in to play the 88's in WHEN BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE DO UGLY THINGS and WHEN THE DRUM MACHINE WAS KING - FINALE.
Tasty Beats.
Percussionist Lenny Castro pulses through your soul on THE INVENTION, THERE'S ALWAYS A GIRL and INIMITABLE SPIN.
Joe Vaughan plays spoons (yeah spoons!) on THERE'S ALWAYS A GIRL.
The Accordian Must Be Respected!
Frank Marocco's nuanced playing scores twice! On THERE'S ALWAYS A GIRL and THE STARLET. Believe me with Frank on this disc the whole album is a much better place.
Those Old Second City Pals 'O Mine.
As an alum of The Second City, Chicago I convinced Fred Kaz, to dazzle with his piano and arranging on LET'S SPLIT.
Other Second City pals who did me a great honor performing in tiny cameos are comedy vets; Dan Castellaneta, Meagen Fay and Isabella Hoffman.
All are magnificent on LET'S SPLIT and THE STARLET.
A Gallery of Talented People.
Dennis Tufano, the original (and one and only, damnit!) lead singer of Chicago's legendary Buckinghams, heads up this pack on YEARS and SEVEN WAYS FROM SUNDAY.
Maureen Kelly, another Second City friend, gives her all as does Shelly Goldstein and her amazing pipes on LET'S SPLIT and SEVEN WAYS FROM SUNDAY.
Sheri Hursey, Angie Jaree, David Lasley, Byron Motley, John Rubano, Paul Barosse, Mark Miller and Lynn Mills all help out on THE STARLET and SEVEN WAYS FROM SUNDAY.
The Eclectics.
Ayo Adiame plays talking drum and chants on SEVEN WAYS FROM SUNDAY. Ira Miller laughs brilliantly on LET'S SPLIT and Chaim Gilliad unknowingly plays Nagra on THE STARLET.
Studios
Recorded at Private Island Trax, Hollywood, California
Recorded at EMAC STUDIOS, London, Ontario, Canada
reviews
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kool stuff
author: queen mabeclectic the man is brilliant. real artist.catchy tunes, great lyrics. lotsa fun on a rainy day.
Psychedelia Reborn
author: Arthur Athanasios KyriazisSyd the Karaoke Kid is a tremendous tour-de-force, an album which reminds us of the Kinks in their 1966 glory, with "Waterloo Sunset" and "You Really Got me Now" type tunes throughout. Syd also pays homage to Sixties Garage Punk like the 13th Floor Elevators; to the Blues of Chicago; and to LA Psychedelia, like the Doors. What an Album, and what a tremendous accomplishment for Syd Arthur!!!
A watershed offering; masterfully captures the era.
author: Frank NewbaybeeFor the abiding pilgrim, here is a musical universe fully realized; a talent-saturated sphere wistfully summoning the lost moment somewhere between Rock Opera and Concept Album. Think Dvorak`s "New World", Joyce`s "Ulysses", and Magritte on a thorazine-fuelled excursion back to sweet reality. While offering homage to the vinyl gods and serving as an instrument of their veneration, Syd remains transcendant and triumphant, warranting his own sharp note of pantheon buzz. If history is to recognize the late 20th Century as "Time please, gentlemen" for the dominance of the Western male cultural canon, then let it at least be said that Syd Arthur`s marriage of winking Eastern allusiveness -- Herman Hesse meets the Japanese company man after hours -- with an ass-kicking backbeat, squelched the whimper of its final exit. If you do nothing else worthwhile in your miserable existential nightmare, you must roll up your pantlegs and buy this puppy.
Buy this CD. Buy it often. It's remarkable.
author: James O'reganI have this CD. Buy it now. Buy it often. When it arrived in my CD player, I played it and played like a little kid. Kapelos has one of the best music soundtracks around. The variety of styles and tunes is remarkable. The chap has range and, in one cut, a delightfully infectious laugh. I would have liked to have seen the show but it didn't travel here to the frozen north. Come on HBO, pony up some video on this. Favourite tracks: Years, Invention, Starlet and Looking for Love… ah what the …, it's all really good.
Groovy groovy disc
author: Evanston GirlRarely is a musical project attacked with such obvious joy and respect from the great musicians who came before. The combination of assembled talent is staggering and one-of-a-kind. Once upon a time, music evolved from love. You can fake talent -- the record companies and pop charts do it to perfection. But in music, as in life, you can't fake love. There is love here. Whatever else passes, the love on this disc lives. Check it out.