Search - Rusty Zinn :: Zinfidelity 1

WHITE CHOCOLATE MELTS IN YOUR HAND

Douglas McKinnon Jr. | Tijeras, NM | 11/24/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"For those of us who have all the Rusty Zinn CDs, if you liked "The Chill" more than his earlier stuff you'll like this. If you think as I do that Rusty's better suited to Jump or Texas-style blues than Soul, you'll be disappointed. I strongly suggest you listen to all the song clips before you decide to buy it. I'm hedging a bit because not everyone is as demanding as I am when it comes to blues vocals. To me, Rusty has a thin, whiny voice which doesn't sound Black, no matter how hard he tries. Another White artist who has "gone Soul" on his latest CD is Sean Costello; I like his older CDs better but his voice is more suited to this material. Compare the "Sean Costello" CD to this and you'll hear the difference."

An artist confused and misguided

souldeep | North Carolina | 09/01/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Somewhere along the way a friend or well meaning fan told Rusty Zinn he should focus more on his singing and less on guitar...Bad idea...Zinn is an expert at aping blues guitar heros of yesterday but has never truely found a style of his own . His singing while well meaning and certinaly better than some of his other guitar hero peers it is not up to the material he has chosen here . As of late urban contemporary black radio is actually giving airplay to a whole new group of talented performers that sing and believe it or not play instruments . If you are really interested in the forms of music Zinn is attempting I would suggest going to the R&B section of your favorite record store or shop Amazon for some of the incredible neosoul that is out today...I strongly suggest for reggae the band Culture and for deep soul check out KC and JOJO John Legend and Angie Stone ."

Soulful and surprising! My actual rating is 4-1/2 stars.

DrDanny | Sunnyvale, CA United States | 08/30/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD marks a drastic and not unwelcome change for Rusty Zinn. It's not that I disliked his uptown blues CDs or his tough and tasty work on some of Kim Wilson's best albums. Far from it, I think Rusty Zinn ranks right up there with Junior Watson, Rick Holmstrom, Jay Geils, and Charlie Baty, to name a few of my fave guitarists. But _Zinfidelity_ is a whole nuther level of goodness. There's variety, real soul, and a sense of personal committment in the performances that can be felt through the speakers.



I was hooked right from the opening bars of the first track, "Talkin' 'Bout You" which has a terrific Memphis R&B sound, like something from Booker T & the MGs. And when the guitar solo happens, it's with a wah-wah pedal, but oh-so-tasty.

The entire CD is filled with nice little surprises, e.g. a Boss Octaver on another great tune, "Lucille." And then BANG! out of nowhere, we get some reggae ("Put Your Hand in Mine") then more authentic-sounding soul ("Get My Hat")...



Honestly, I have to say this is one of the most entertaining CDs I've heard in several months, and I really hope Volume 2 happens soon.



Big props to the rhythm section -- bassist Randy Bermudes in particular -- and to Bob Welsh for the keyboards. (More bands should use that classic Hammond B3 sound, don't you think?)



Bottom line: I like it lots.

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