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MARCO MENDOZA
www.marcomendoza.com
Marco Mendoza? Who? No, I’d never heard of him either, but he’s one seriously talented guy! Having previously been involved in a number of projects including playing bass with the likes of Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Ted Nugent, Tim “Ripper” Owens and even Dolores O’Riordan (The Cranberries); ‘Casa Mendoza’ marks only his second solo album – quite astonishing really considering his virtuosity as a bass player and the fact that he’s now into his 50s. Starting off with quite a daring cover of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Living for the City’, keeping elements of its original soul styling, but transforming it into an incredibly catchy and effective jazz-rock fusion version, Mendoza has you instantly hooked and set for quite a musical rollercoaster, and as the final line of the song says “well you might as well enjoy the ride”. Indeed. Mendoza’s talents as a bass player, vocalist and songwriter are evident right through the album, and his technicality easily equals that of more well-known bass legends such as Jaco Pastorius and Billy Sheehan, and is especially prominent on ‘Circle of Life’. And his voice… jeez does he have one hell of a powerful and versatile voice! Backed by Steve Weingart (keys), Rafael Moriera (guitars) and Joey Heredia (drums), who themselves display equally impressive musical prowess and c.v.’s (well worth Wiki-ing if you’re interested), together they create this awe-inspiring journey through fusions of rock, metal, jazz, funk, Latin and soul, interspersing Latin-inspired technical widdllage with more mellow laid back soulful songs such as Crying Out, and jazz-fusioning-up-with-a-touch-of-Vai a version of the rockabilly classic Suzy Q. The cross-genre appeal of ‘Casa Mendoza’ is unquestionable, especially if you’re musically open-minded and into jazz-fusion, classic rock or the funk-metal fusion of Infectious Grooves, you will find yourself tapping your foot like a lunatic, air-bassing or doing chicken-head-bobbing at some point whilst listening to this! Here’s hoping there’s more where this came from Señor Mendoza, I want more!
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Mascot Records
Album
CASA MENDOZA
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Review by Hannah Sylvester
RUNNING TIME:
69:58
RELEASE DATE:
23rd August 2010
TRACK LISTING
1) Living for the City; 2) Trouble
3) Suzy Q; 4) You
5) Circle of Life
6) Kingdom of Paradise
7) Are You There
8) Betty Joe
9) Faith (Interlude)
10) Crying Out
11) Get Ready
12) You Got A Friend
13) Tu (Bonus Track)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
USA
"The cross-genre appeal of ‘Casa Mendoza’ is unquestionable, especially if you’re musically open-minded and into jazz-fusion, classic rock or the funk-metal fusion of Infectious Grooves..."
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