![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/arthur_alexander_steppin_ou.jpg\")
Not long ago, I was sipping a pint of real ale in a Liverpool pub called the Cavern, when-upon I was introduced to a musician called Steven Wilson. No, not that one: this Steven Wilson is a superb musical artist who works under the nom de rock<\/i> of Plasticsoul. Brilliant guy, great music. But not<\/i> the man who led\/leads Porcupine Tree and oversees remixes of classic albums.<\/p>\n
I get it: there are only so many names out there, and it\u2019s inevitable that some confusing overlap will eventually occur. Just ask Nancy Wilson (jazz singer? Heart guitarist?). Or, for that matter, Bill Kopp (L.A.-based animator, or author of the words you\u2019re reading right now?).<\/p>\n
Or Arthur Alexander. Born in 1940, the country-soul giant counted the Beatles as major fans of his work; they included many of his songs in their repertoire, including \u201cAnna,\u201d \u201cSoldier of Love\u201d and \u201cA Shot of Rhythm and Blues.\u201d His biggest hit, \u201cYou Better Move On\u201d has been covered by a wide assortment of artists including the Hollies and Rolling Stones. His name is the answer to the trivia question, \u201cWho is the only songwriter covered by Elvis, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan?\u201d Alexander passed away in 1993.<\/p>\n
This review is not about music from him.<\/p>\n
This<\/i> Arthur Alexander is a founding member of Sorrows, the NYC-based pop group. Before that, he led another power pop outfit, the equal parts obscure and legendary Poppees. He released a solo set, One Bar Left<\/i> in 2018, and now Alexander has joined the stable of excellent artists at Big Stir Records. Steppin\u2019 Out!<\/i> is his latest.<\/p>\n
The album charges out of the speakers with \u201cWoman,\u201d a high-powered, insistent rocker. Tight vocal harmonies, a grab-you-by-the-throat drum foundation and a roaring electric guitar solo all add up to a statement: I\u2019m here to rock. After a bit of studio chatter, \u201cIt\u2019s Not Love Anymore #2\u201d presents a jangling, moody tune. Spooky keyboards adorn the arrangement, which deftly balances melody and a wide-screen rocking-out aesthetic. The twangy, sonorous guitar figure that decorates \u201c(She\u2019s a) Red Hot Lover\u201d is just one of that tune\u2019s virtues.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne Life (is all You Got)\u201d is built upon a handful of perhaps too-familiar riffs and melodic lines, but considered on its own, it\u2019s a sturdy tune. \u201cOh Lulu, Won\u2019t You Be My Girl\u201d is as out of place on Steppin\u2019 Out<\/em> as \u201cHoney Pie\u201d is on the White Album<\/i> (kazoo? Okayyy\u2026) but it\u2019s well executed nonetheless. \u201cWhy Can\u2019t You Come\u201d expertly combines a glam-rock vibe with indie sensibility. The chirpy vocal harmonies on the zippy \u201cI Need You\u201d are reminiscent of Jeff Lynne leaning into the retro-nostalgic side of his persona; the slide guitar solo is catchy.<\/p>\n A sweetly folk character informs \u201cHumming Blues in Four.\u201d Alexander slows down for a bit of melancholy on the lovely \u201cSilver Cloud.\u201d And his ear candy predilections make themselves known on the irresistible \u201cFly Away.\u201d Somewhat strangely, Alexander ends the album with an alternate, instrumental mix of that song, re-titled as \u201cFlying Shadows.\u201d There\u2019s nothing wrong with it, but it does feel a bit unnecessary.<\/p>\n My only potential criticism of Steppin\u2019 Out!<\/i> is this: I could be wrong \u2013 and will happily issue a correction if I\u2019m authoritatively informed otherwise \u2013 but I detect the faintest whiff of Autotune on the vocals here and there. But for fans of melodic powerpop, Alexander\u2019s latest is well worth hearing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Not long ago, I was sipping a pint of real ale in a Liverpool pub called the Cavern, when-upon I was introduced to a musician called Steven Wilson. No, not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,51,62,65],"tags":[2538],"class_list":["post-25835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-release","category-pop","category-rawk","category-review","tag-arthur-alexander","cat-49-id","cat-51-id","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25835"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25853,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25835\/revisions\/25853"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}