Pete Francis Albums (5)
'Iron Sea and the Calvary'
Release Date 3/18/2008
Tracks 10
Label Scrapper
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What The Critics Say
Singer/songwriters Pete Francis and Craig Dreyer have conjured up a quiet, contemplative duo effort in Everything Is One. Although the disc is being released on Francis' independent label, Scrapper, with distribution through his website, www.petefrancis.com, and other online retailers, it is at least as much Dreyer's record, if not more. Of the ten tracks, Dreyer wrote or co-wrote eight, Francis five. The performers' vocal styles are distinct. Both are native New Yorkers, but Francis has a clear, light tone to his tenor, with distinct enunciation, while Dreyer's voice has grit and a slight slur, as if he's been smoking cigarettes and listening to Leon Russell albums all day. The faux-Southern impression also extends to Dreyer's songs, which sometimes boast pedal steel guitar (played by Buddy Cage) and his relaxed, jazzy saxophone playing. But if the listener has no trouble telling the two singers apart, the songs have great similarities, particularly in the lyrics (some of Dreyer's compositions are co-written by Michael Parrish), which are full of detailed, close observations and introspection. They are simultaneously specific and yet inconclusive. A perfect example is the leadoff track, "Things You'll Never Find," one of only two songs co-written by Dreyer and Francis, which lists all sorts of objects -- "Flashlight and a fishing lure/Shotgun shells and faded cans" -- to flesh out the title. Some of them sound like things you could find, but the song is as much about memory and longing as it is about real property. And the lyrics to all the songs are full of such items, as well as everyday events, with implications for how they make the songwriters feel. The music ranges from pop to rock to folk, but the tempos never rev up and the melodies are often elongated, so that these are more art songs than pop tunes. The closest to a really catchy number is the title song, and the package includes a DVD with a goofy music video (plus, of course, "making of" footage) that makes it seem even more accessible. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'Good to Finally Know'
Release Date 10/19/2004
Tracks 10
Label Burn & Shiver
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
It is clear from Pete Francis' solo debut that he possesses many of the gifts that make a great and unique songwriter, but there is something hidden within many of the tracks on Untold which suggest he has the want, but not the courage, to break from the humdrum early nineties college rock clich�s. This is immediately apparent with the album opener, "One Train" which begins with a predictable chord progression supporting a chimey guitar line that leads into verse one, but when the chorus hits, the song ascends into full beauty with arching strings and glittery glockenspiel and reveals that Francis has some clever tricks to divulge. The addition of singer Nadine Lafond's backing vocals and the simple pulsing Hammond B-3 of Paul Tillotson are applied to tighten up the song into an eddy of pleasant listing - but underneath these textural niceties, Francis' attachment to conventional song structure still looms. That's the only reason Untold fall short - it sounds like Pete Francis didn't quite know what to do. It is a frustrating listen precisely because it is clear Francis takes himself a bit too seriously to make a fun, predictable radio-friendly record, and yet it seems he never fully lost himself in the vision of creating an entire album of the innovative pop which creeps out of the headphones in places all over this recording. The result is an album which is filled with nuggets of brilliance surrounded by nondescript bridges serving no purpose other than to kill time until the next section of music where Francis truly explored his options. This is not to say Untold isn't a likeable album, just that Francis is always hinting that he may have withheld something more complex and substituted a less adventurous payoff. There is plenty to grab a hold of, like the shifting track "Julie", a great example of what Francis is capable of. With its snakey guitar and organ work and a nicely arranged yet hushed chorus that crescendos and breaks before the start of each verse, the whole track shifts enough to be consistently engaging. However, Untold seems destined to be a precursor to the hopefully more calculated Pete Francis music to come. ~ Gregory McIntosh, All Music Guide
