Search - Leo Sidran :: L Sid

Wake up to L.Sid

B. Bernstein | NY | 04/28/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although you may never have heard of Leo Sidran before, he is definately worth checking out. Someone gave me his cd as a gift, and I was really pleasantly surprised! This is a record with very little precedent. Sidran crosses musical, linguistic and cultural boundries effortlessly. He makes me want to go out and learn Spanish just so I can understand what he's singing about. This is a relaxing and sophisticated cd. It never leaves my cd changer, and most days I wake up to those haunting opening chords of "43 Con Piña"."

Some great songs, lacking in overall feel.

SetsofWaves | Wisconsin, USA | 08/15/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Leo Sidran is a very talented songwriter and performer that seems to be searching for his niche. The fifteen songs on "L. Sid" incorporate jazz, latin, and pop into some brilliant songs. However, while Sidran experiments with different sounds and songs, the listener is forced to suffer through some failed attempts.The album opens with "43 Con Pina"-a very tight pop song-but also quite lackluster. Built around the words, "Some say that a woman, she tells you that its real. But here its all backwards, its what she doesn't tell you that shows you how she feels." Combine these lyrics with a soft pop-song, and you get an amazingly uninteresting track.Several songs have the same pitfall. "Pushing and Shoving" wins the award as the most un-listenable track. The lyrics are vapid. "Lets stop this pushin' and shovin'. Let's start some real good lovin'." Leo is better than this garbage.But more often than not, Leo really shines on this album. Leo Sidran has an amazing ability to combine jazz, latin, and pop almost seamlessly. Most of the songs are a combination of two or three styles of music-which rarely seems awkward or forced. "What We Know" combines some of his perfect lyrics into a fast-paced jazz/funk jam session. "Sevillanas" is a great Spanish song, with a mix of English and Spanish lyrics. "Times Before" is a great jazz song-with vocals that remind you of Chet Baker's "My Funny Valentine.""Hypnotized" is one of the standout tracks. This is his most masterfully crafted pop-song on the album. "I'm Gone" has a great latin jazz feel to it-while still seeming as if you might hear it on a pop radio station. "Enjoy Yourself," and "Times Before" also combine jazz and pop to form fantastic hybrid tracks. His combining of ethnic music with American pop music is reminiscent of perhaps Sergio Mendes or Herb Alpert. Both took latin music and combined it with 60s pop for American audiences. Leo Sidran combines jazz and latin sounds with better than average pop-songs. The combinations is immediately appealing.As I understand, Sidran has experience writing songs for other artists. On "L. Sid" he demonstrates just how talented of a songwriter he is. However, while listening to certain tracks, one begins to wonder is Leo is indeed the best performer for the song. I can't help but hear Steely Dan sing "Old Enough." In the end, Sidran is experimenting with different combinations and balances between musical influences. Sometimes the songs fare well. Other times, perhaps they ought to have been scrapped. But this album is definitely worth the price-even if you do skip over a couple of tracks.What's missing is an overall uniformity here. Leo seems to have written fifteen songs and thrown them onto a disc, with little care as to what they will say to the listener as a whole. If he had included only ten or twelve songs, he could have eliminated a few tracks that stick out, and the album would have had a more unified feel. Instead, we see a portrait of a songwriter and performer that is eager to try anything-at least once. I look forward to Leo's future as a performer.I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could."