Charlie Imes

By JIM TRAGESER - Staff Writer | Wednesday, October 1, 2008

(Self-released)

Not many self-released albums are as polished, as fully realized as this new one from San Diego's Charlie Imes. Then again, not many unsigned artists can bring in former members of Paul McCartney's old band, Wings, or assemble an all-star roster of San Diego's best musicians.

But having Laurence Juber sit in on guitar would have been a waste if that were the album's high point. Instead, with the rich warmth of Imes' singing voice, as well as the utter confidence he displays in his singing ---- and the wealth of strong songs Imes and guitarist David Beldock have written ---- Juber's contribution is what it should be: icing.

Besides, while Juber is the best-known name on this collection, he's not necessarily the best player, nor even the best picker. Dennis Caplinger, well-known on his own to local audiences for his many appearances in the stage bands of various musicals at the Welk Resort Theatre, lays down some mean lines on mandolin and banjo. Mike Spurgat, lead guitarist for local rockers Deadline Friday, is no slouch either.

The roster is rounded out by other local standout players such as Bill Coomes (drums), also a member of Deadline Friday (and the Citizen Band), bassist Rob Thorsen, guitarist Jim Soldi and trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos. Background and other vocals are provided by Cindy Lee Berryhill, Cathryn Beeks, Barbara Nesbitt and Amy Mayer, each of whom has one or more superb records of her own.

As mentioned above, Imes is a strong, confident singer, utterly polished in his delivery and quiet showmanship. There's more than a striking resemblance to Jimmy Buffett in both his voice and his style (as well as a cover of Buffett's "Stranded on a Sandbar"). At the same time, Imes is enough of his own person to never come off as a wannabe: Buffett has never worked so much jazz into his music, for starters, nor the Hawaiian themes Imes blends in. And Imes has more of a storytellers' approach to his delivery.

While this is SoCal beach music through and through, Imes still changes things up stylistically on a regular basis, which keeps the album an intriguing listen: "Sittin' Here" (which Imes paints as a nod to Burt Bacharach in his liner notes) has a kind of lounge feel to it, while "Summer Days" starts off with an R&B groove, and "Second Chance" is a blues.

This is just a wonderfully melodic collection from a gifted singer and songwriter with top-notch production from Jeff Berkley, another member of San Diego's music royalty.
- North County Times (San Diego)

September 2008
Written by Paul Hormick

Americans have always loved their flip flops, but 30 years ago Jimmy Buffet single handedly took the item of footwear and made it not just a fashion statement, but an emblem of a pop music style. Aimed at adults who were chagrined to keep their Led Zep LPs on the platter, Buffet's pleasant melodies and easy rhythms supported themes of middle-aged irresponsibility and appealed to the inner beach bum and slacker in all of us. It's clear, even from the funny "island" scene on the cover of On an Island that Charlie Imes casts himself in the mold of a latter day Buffet. He sings like the Chief of the Parrot Heads too, with a breezy and easy baritone. With a tip o' the hat to the master, he even covers one of Buffet's better tunes, "Stranded on a Sandbar," which has Buffet's characteristic understated self reflection and sadness.

Imes praises the simple pleasures of life for what they are: the simple pleasures of life. His songs and lyrics are uncluttered by irony or attempts at cleverness and are as straightforward as any of the old Beach Boys hits about cars and girls. Imes has different priorities than these adolescent fixations, but he is still enchanted by the easily accessible treasures of the good life. When he repeats the line "It's 75 degrees outside" in one of the disk's songs "Summer Days," he is saying precisely that it is 75 degrees outside and suggests nothing more than putting on a tee shirt a pair of shorts and basking in the sunshine. This is a great disk for cracking a couple of Coronas with friends after a few hours of boogie boarding.

In the music business you have to always make sure that you work with the best. Imes follows this dictum from beginning to end. Exceptional performances from bassist Rob Thorsen, multi-instrumentalist Dennis Caplinger, guitarist Laurence Juber, Chris Klich, and a number of others make this disk shine. We even get Gilbert Castellanos adding his trumpet a time or two. Imes also shows his smarts by sharing the production with Jeff Berkley and handing over to Berkley the recording and mixing duties. Berkley's a total pro.

And speaking of working with the best, Imes covers two tunes, "Second Chance" and "Clone," penned by Bordertown alumnus Dave Beldock, who has established himself as the ninth greatest songwriter in the history of western civilization. In particular, "Clone" is wry, clever, and funny. The icing on the cake is Cindy Berryhill, who plays to a fare-thee-well the part of self-centered wife who is more than happy with the attentions of her husband multiplied twice over. It's a crack up.

"Worst Presnadent Ever," the final cut, is the most pleasant protest song possible. The one tune that gets political, calling out Bush for his misdeeds, remains in the same breezy style of the rest of On an Island. We're treated to voice-overs by James Adomian in character as Cheney and Bush. Like the earlier work by Berryhill, these jabs at the veep and his sidekick will bring a laugh or at least a grin even from the staunchest right-wing neocons.

- Troubador Magazine

By Marti Gacioch
Aug 14, 2008

Coastal living is far more than just a beach for singer-songwriter Charlie Imes. For him, it's an entire lifestyle - one he celebrates with the release of his first album, "On An Island."

Imes, a Del Mar resident, wrote the songs over a 30-year period, and the tunes serve as the soundtrack of his life.

"The album is autobiographical in a way because some of the songs were written 20 years ago and some more recently," Imes said. "All the different songs conjure up images of times in my life - different stories and different friends."

Growing up in Southern California coastal towns, Imes collected plenty of experiences to inspire his songs. He spent his youth at the beach and, by age 12, he'd learned guitar by playing along with records and with friends. He played in rock bands throughout high school and started writing his own songs by age 18. Many of his tunes were rock songs, but he also had a flair for folk music and began developing his own style.

Over the years, Imes has played at coffee houses and clubs with his musician-friends, the Hodad Surf Club, perhaps the only band without any definite, permanent members.

"It's whoever's playing with me on any given evening - it's my running joke," Imes said.

While he has many musical influences, Imes counts James Taylor and Jimmy Buffet among his favorite artists.

"Most good songs have a good story behind them and that's something I always liked with songwriters like James Taylor," Imes said.

Imes had a particular sound in mind when he wrote the songs for "On An Island" and it centered on the albums he cherished in the 1970s.

"You put on Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell or the Eagles and that's the music that made me feel happy," he said. "So when I set out to record this album, I wanted to try to capture that kind of sound and feel."

As he played music for the sheer joy of it, Imes always resisted pursuing a professional music career. Friends who made it big in the music business gave Imes a good look at all that experience entailed. What he saw convinced him not to seek a similar lifestyle.

"Everybody loved the camaraderie, but they seemed miserable with the business aspect," he said. "I decided that life was too short and I would make the album that I always wanted to hear. Now I have an album that I'm really proud of."

Imes had as much fun producing the album as he did writing the songs, and part of that fun was selecting 22 different musicians to play on the album.

"Jeff Berkley co-produced the record with me, and we talked about each song and the sound and the feel we were looking for and which musicians would be good," Imes said. "These are not just good musicians; they are really good people who are a lot of fun to work with."

The album's title song, "On An Island," has been Imes' signature tune among his friends and fans for many years.

"It's the song that people request the most," Imes said. "I was pleased to get Laurence Juber to play lead guitar on that track. He used to play with Paul McCartney's Wings."
"Worst Presnadent (sp) Ever," Imes's commentary on the George W. Bush years, may prove to be far more controversial than any other album cut.

"It was one of those gifts from God that just flowed out of me," Imes said, "but the tricky part was finding the person to do the voice of Bush."

He settled on James Adomian, who frequently imitates Bush on "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson." Imes performed the song at a recent Barack Obama rally, and he and Adomian plan to make a video the song for Imes' Web site.

To learn more about "On An Island," visit www.crimesofmusic.com.
- La Jolla/Del Mar Times