Can You See the Future? - Fred and Ethel |
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More Spiritone releases... |
The first Spiritone release by folk rock duo Fred and Ethel has been let loose! Fred and Ethel pull no punches with modern themes and a retro sound. Fred and Ethel teamed up with Kenn Fox's tube driven Telecaster to amp up this acoustic duo's repertoire. Fans of Fred and Ethel will love the vintage rockabilly vibe. The all-original material was recorded the old fashioned way - to analog tape. A who's who of Spiritone guest artists fill out the band. Can YOU see the future? Also available at select area music stores. |
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Fred and Ethel
Review - Shepherd Express
May 6-12 Edition, Page 31
FRED AND ETHEL - Can You See the Future? (Spiritone)
No, the Mertzes don't have unreleased material. Fred and Ethel is the pseudonym for the local folk-rock duo of Tom Janezic and Jude Kinnear. Recording acoustically for some time and contributing to numerous folk/benefit compilations, the pair is proud to share their latest album with a full band. Producer Kenn Fox maintains the majority of rhythm, fill and bass guitar on the album along with Randy Mueller on drums, while Fred and Ethel-excuse me, Tom and Jude-focus on a most nostalgic sort of vocal harmonization.
Although titled Can You See the Future?, the album concentrates more on a past generation, where similar mystic phrases were pondered in bare feet and passed around a smoky huddle on a California beachfront. The title track does, however, hold more resonance as a concerned question, drawing upon aged lessons in peace and political activism and pleading, for us to "wake up and realize where we're heading."
Musical style has a definite link to the 1960s fusion of folk and
psychedelia, incorporating the sounds of all the notorious pop vocal groups of the time. Take the harmony of a congenial twosome like Sonny and Cher, the sun-shiny instrumentation of the Mamas and the Papas or the Lovin' Spoonful, the darkness and peculiarity of the Airplane, a bit of Monkees folly, and you're close to knowing Fred and Ethel. What distinguishes the group from comparison is their own infusion of rockabilly twang and hard-rocking rhythm with the homey heritage of Americana. Transcendent tracks are "Rifles" with its infectious chorus and sing-along accessibility (a constant for most of the group's songs) and the live-show-favorite "In Cement."
-Graham Fons
