CD Review ‘METROPOLIS’ Peter Cincotti

Peter Cincotti (vocals, piano, keyboards); various musicians on guitar, bass, programming, drums, strings, percussion, spoken word.
(Review by Ann Alex.)

This is a very good listen, but not at all jazz, rather what I would call ‘intelligent rock’.  The lyrics are  interesting and skilled with many of the songs telling a story, and every word is crystal clear, even though there is lots of instrumentation and technology involved in the accompaniment.  This is the cd you’d play at parties and some tracks wouldn’t be out of place as rock anthems in a stadium concert.

Track one, Metropolis, reminded me of early Pink Floyd and some of the technology is reminiscent of the Pet Shop Boys in the 1980’s.  The album displays an overall concept about modern urban life and relationships. There’s track 5, Nothing’s Enough, about too much materialism, the effective hook on track 2, ‘making you my religion’, and the mellifluous piano playing on track 4 Take a Good Look. 

The track which stood out for me is track 9, Madeline, a tender love song about how the singer can’t forget about an old love despite being in a new relationship.  The orchestral string accompaniment is very fine.  This track would do well if released as a single, but in fact track 11, For Ever and Always, which has less original lyrics, has been chosen for this.

This cd is Cincotti's 4^th album. He is from New York and, already known in Europe, he first came to our attention in the Bobby Darin biopic Beyond The Sea starring Kevin Spacey. Cincotti played Darin's pianist and sidekick. The single is to be released on August 20 by Proper Note Records and the album itself is set to be released in September.  I hope he gets the recognition he deserves, though, unlike his earlier releases, it probably won’t be in the jazz world.  
Ann Alex.