The review was written by the winner of the giveaway hosted by RudeMaker in February, Jakub Mroczkowski.
In times of Spotify, Tidal and other streaming services, when the world of music is just a few mouse clicks away, it’s sometimes difficult to find oneself. Musicians who want to rise share their work wherever they can, for a fee or for free. This doesn’t mean, however, that each and every album is great and worth attention. Unfortunately, time passes quickly and hardly anyone can afford to listen to every novelty. That’s why I would like to thank the RudeMaker crew for highlighting such pearls as Caz Gardiner & The Badasonics!
You don’t judge a book by its cover, and you shouldn’t judge an album after listening to the first song, but “Out of Time” puts me in a perfect mood and indicates a great musical feast! After listening to the record several times, you can hear clearly that Caz’s voice is inspired by the soul queen, Aretha Franklin. The whole album is a perfect combination of soul, ska, rocksteady and reggae. I found two covers on it: “Feel Like Jumping” was originally recorded by Marcia Griffiths, and “Piece of My Heart” by Erma Franklin. This second song may be more widely known from Janis Joplin’s performance.
But let’s get to the merits and the question (which song from Caz Gardiner & The Badasonics’ album do you like the most and why). I thought for a long time which song to choose and it wasn’t easy because the whole album is really great! I narrowed the search field to two: “Be Good” and “Go Back”. Finally, I chose “Be Good”!
Ale przejdźmy do meritum i pytania konkursowego (która piosenka z albumu Caz Gardiner & The Badasonics podoba Wam się najbardziej i dlaczego). Długo myślałem nad tym, który utwór wybrać i nie było to łatwe bo cała płyta jest naprawdę świetna! Zawęziłem pole poszukiwań do dwóch: “Be Good” i “Go Back”. Ostatecznie mój wybór padł na “Be Good”!
The song is written in molar key. It’s a classic version of rocksteady and skinhead reggae. The first four measures are played on guitar and drums, joined by the horns for the next four. This simple and short introduction is a prelude to the story which Caz Gardiner takes us in. The guys from The Badasonics create the perfect background for Caz’s vocals, which shines with its natural and warm timbre. In the second part of the verse, the brass section wonderfully responds to the lyrics sung by the singer. This is a kind of call and response used in blues, gospel and jazz. In the chorus, the background consists of brass musicians playing long sounds along with the rest of the rhythm section. Caz’s vocals flow continuously through two stanzas and two choruses. Her singing takes us to a better world. The second chorus is followed by the bridge. In this part the boys from The Badasonics come to the fore. Without unnecessary fireworks, but with much grace the keyboard player, trumpeter and saxophonist create a musical background. A wonderful ending with a lively and cheerful melody played on horns and Caz’s vocals brings us to the end of this wonderful musical tale…
If I had a guitar with me when I wrote these words, I could probably give you the chords on which this song is based. But are they really relevant? The most important is the music created by Caz Gardiner & The Badasonics. This album is a great journey into the world of ska, soul, rocksteady and reggae. A musical journey that takes you to an extraterrestrial orbit from which you don’t want to return too quickly!
Photo: Jakub Mroczkowski
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It all probably started because the first gig I went to as a teenager was a ska show. If I knew that it would last this long, maybe I would think twice. Or maybe not, and it was just meant to be. Now I go to gigs and record interviews with the bands I like. But if they play rock and roll in the area, there's a good chance that you will find me there.
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