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Gordon Weiss starts his Sum of Its Parts CD starts in a strange way with a woman reciting a deranged version of “Roses Are Red” (from the Italian horror classic Suspiria) on “Fountains of Weezer,” then he starts singing his purposefully distorted vocals. He then makes a statement with his guitar on the track, which abruptly cuts off the psycho woman and leads right into the song. This is his own personal tribute to Fountains of Wayne and Weezer. From this point forward, what he sets you up for is a grand listening experience full of rock-pop nuggets.
Weiss is another incredibly gifted indie musician, he plays guitar, piano, bass, percussion, everything but the kitchen sink and then writes all of his own music and lyrics. The superlative prog-rocker Jeff Cannata produced the recording in his studio. Cannata is like an underground Todd Rundgren of sorts, taking artists like Weiss under his wing and getting every ounce of talent from him and the visiting musicians that assist Weiss in getting this recording together. Weiss benefited from this atmosphere and the result is superb as Sum of Its Parts is an excellent rock-pop album that reminded me of early Steely Dan, and that put a smile in my heart that would not go away. It felt that way for me from track 2 to 12.
When Weiss cuts loose on ‘Red Shoes Revisited” it turns out to be a real pop gem, the kind of song you hear on those warm summer nights blaring from cars driving by or from the neighbors open window. The following track is “Unforgivable,” which starts with an unforgettable hook via Weiss’s six-string and it weaves its way through the meat of the track. This is the one song when the Steely Dan thing hit me; all I could think of was their first album “Can’t Buy a Thrill.” This is a good thing, a real tribute to how good Weiss is and the lasting impression he made on me.
There is also plenty of influence of the Fab 4 in this music. “Half of Harry,” sounds like a Lennon and McCartney tune if I ever heard one and the harmonies and chorus, then the psychedelic guitar licks accompanied by the keyboards emulating the Sgt. Pepper like horns pushed me into a reminiscent frame of mind again. I have to wonder if Weiss also listened to a lot of 10cc (Note ‘Hook, Line and Singer”) in his day.
Well it is is all good regardless of the influences Weiss sounds fresh, vibrant and original and I know how difficult that can be when you have so many influences that are instantly recognizable.
Let’s face it, there is more crap than quality music out there now, I think it’s probably a 10 to 1 ratio at this point, with the good being on the low end of the scale. This is a good album worth investigating
- MuzikReviews.com
Out of nowhere comes “Sum Of Its Parts”, the debut from one Gordon Weiss. And a more perfect title could not be had as Weiss blends, bleeds and balances a bit of varying song styles, evident with the contrast of “Fountains Of Weezer”(which sounds like, ahem, you know who) and is followed by “Too Much”, a mid-tempo rocker that could have walked off either a Black Crowes album or a late 70s Eric Clapton one. A compliment, for the record! Then comes “It’s Easy” which starts off with an Eagles/Bread guitar exchange and ends up finding its way to sounding like a lost track from the Barenaked Ladies. Then the killer “Red Shoes Revisted” pulls off the difficult task of evoking a hero who shall be un-named if you can’t pick up on the obvious reference. Listen to the first song below for further reference help.
Those are only the first four of 12 songs. This mucho enjoyable and consistently listenable display of ‘good taste acumen’ continues – beginning to end. You can’t hang your hat easily and say “Sum Of It Parts” sounds like this artist, that artist because it is what it says it is – ‘sum of its parts’. Bold, Beautiful and Very Highly Recommended!
- NotLame.com
Discography
Sum of Its Parts-debut LP
All tracks streaming on last.fm and radio airplay on WPLR in New Haven, CT
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Bio
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Gordon Weiss made his debut musical performance miming on the recorder along with the other third graders, which made him vow to learn to play an instrument for real. His first true foray into the world of music took the form of studying classical trumpet for eight years, culminating in two performances at Carnegie Hall with the New York City All-City Band. It was deja-vu when he stood up for a trumpet fanfare to find that his mouthpiece had fallen out backstage.
By then Gordon had been bitten by the Beatle bug and his love for clever songwriting with strong melodic hooks took over full force. But it was the power chords of Pete Townshend and The Who that made him give up the trumpet and pick up an old acoustic guitar, which he promptly stripped of two strings so he could play along with all of John Entwistle’s bass lines. Gordon soon acquired a proper bass and played in bands in high school and college, before adding a Stratocaster to his collection, which prompted his first attempts at singing and songwriting.
Realizing that playing in bands with names like “Dead Grotty” would unlikely lead to a record deal, Gordon went to medical school and eventually became a child psychiatrist. He relocated to Connecticut and continued to feed his cravings for classic rock and pop music, with healthy doses of Elvis Costello, Squeeze, XTC, Crowded House, Jellyfish, and Candy Butchers, while amassing a catalog of his own songs that he played at occasional impromptu gigs, open mikes, or family gatherings.
A thoughtful gift of drum lessons to help him learn to really bang out some of those Neil Peart licks he had always air drummed along to, led to forming a musical friendship with great session drummer Greg Trabandt of RVP Studios. After hearing of Gordon’s unfulfilled dream to make a record of his original music, Greg not only introduced Gordon to veteran producer Jeff Cannata, but agreed to play drums on all the tracks of Sum Of Its Parts. Featuring brilliant contributions from ace keyboard player Jeff Batter and soaring vocal harmonies from Pete Hodson and Bill Welch of Z-Plan, Gordon wanted to keep this first solo album personal by playing the rest of the instruments himself.
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