Gregg Stewart - Twenty Sixteen (2017)

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Written by Raymond Burris, posted by blog admin

Fourteen songs for Gregg Stewart’s album Twenty Sixteen gives listeners an idea about how much devastation death visited on the music community in 2016. There is certainly a passing of the guard going on today as the icons of the sixties and seventies succumb to countless ailments and leave the scene. We are fortunate to have performers and writers like Gregg Stewart emerging to take their place. He gives an overview of what he loves plus a creative tribute wrapped up in one and puts some real flair on it thanks to a multi-faceted vocal performance that inhabits all of the tunes and just the right amount of artful accompaniment from a three piece backing band. Despite the tasteful quality of these tracks, however, there’s real grit and gravitas to be heard by attentive listeners. Twenty Sixteen will please fans of the respective artists, Gregg Stewart fans, and undoubtedly win new converts over with their presentation.

The key performances on Twenty Sixteen, satisfying on both a vocal and musical level, are his adaptation of Prince’s “Raspberry Beret”, his bluesy remake of Leon Russell’s “One More Love Song”, “If I Could Only Fly”, “High Flying Bird”, Guy Clark’s “Out in the Parking Lot”, the great Leonard Cohen’s “Leaving the Table”, and David Bowie’s “Starman”. The lightly dancing keyboard notes carrying the memory of “Raspberry Beret” have a sparkling delicacy that keeps the song wafting just off the ground and moving past listeners. Stewart’s album notes discuss how he hoped to turn Leon Russell’s classic “One More Love Song” into something reminiscent of The Band’s recordings from their first two albums and manages it with magically minimal effort. The countrified leanings that Stewart excels so well with reach a full flower with the track “If I Could Only Fly”, written by Blaze Foley, popularized by Merle Haggard. The tender, careful vocal treatment that he gives to Foley’s lyrics is quite reminiscent of Haggard’s own version.  It keeps a rootsy air going from beginning to end.

“High Flying Bird” from the early years of Jefferson Airplane shapes up as being on the best outings yet on Twenty Sixteen. Despite the fact original members Signe Anderson and Paul Kantner died in 2016, Stewart could have chosen to ignore the former death and, instead, cover a more recognizable track from these sixties’ stalwarts. The exuberant surge of Glenn Frey’s “I Found Somebody” survives intact into Stewart’s version and he throws himself headlong into the song with the same beaming gratitude.  He bravely takes on Leonard Cohen with the track “Leaving the Table” and puts as much of himself as he can manage into this with an equally committed musical performance. Twenty Sixteen runs a little long and could have done without a couple of otherwise fine performances, but Gregg Stewart is working in peak work throughout the entirety of this superb release.