Artist: Montoya, Coco
Label: Ruf Records
Release: 2010
Length: 53.39
Rating: 2.5/5
Unlike quite a few protégés of blues maestro John Mayall, Coco Montoya has never managed to build any real musical footing as a solo figure, let alone a status that could shield Montoya from the worst pangs of a creative crisis. This time the crisis has really shown its teeth! “I Want It All Basck” is a title with no shortage of meanings, and at least as many readings, plus a pointer to where we’ll be seeing Mayall’s pupil sniffing around in the future. No more doubts now. After the earlier wavering, Coco Montoya has finally slipped into predictable, annoyingly dry soul waters.
The common denominator of the album, with rare exceptions, is listenable soul. Put differently, a good dozen tracks make up a chewed-over collage of soul and blues. This pretty standard combo immediately reveals itself as a listlessly assembled pitch to less demanding listeners, that is, the part of the crowd that doesn’t dare look any further than fabricated soul, styled to fit the regular feeding of masses of apathetic radio consumers. Does that mean Montoya has run dry, totally out of ideas? Very likely. The old-timer now camouflages the creative burnout by morphing into the aforementioned helmsman of the soul-and-blues ship. And that’s where we run into the album’s basic problem. The uncomfortable truth is that Montoya’s vocals lack tangible credibility, that very warmth soul so badly needs, the kind that stirs up intense waves of emotion. Besides the fact that Montoya was never in the first-rate vocalist category (you’d struggle to cram them into the league of average singers either), it’s all the more surprising that, for the sake of a ill-advised stylistic swerve, Montoya coldly ditched the strongest weapon in the arsenal, that rock-solid guitar sound!! Montoya certainly tries, no doubt about it, but still comes off here like an unsatisfied white guy desperately wishing he’d been born black!
The lack of a convincing character in the voice, paired with unexpectedly lukewarm guitar playing that camps out deep in the cellar of the standard six-string scale, quickly leads to an unpleasant monotony that piles up in the background of “I Want It All Back”, “The One Who Really Loves You” or “As Close As I Have Come” without any regret or bad conscience. The latter’s title is spot on, at least meaning-wise: on that track Montoya tests the listener’s patience with a little pouch of more heavily spiced recipes from Robert Cray’s musical kitchen. Better luck in another life, Coco! With all the flirting with soul going on, there’s precious little room left on the album for blues. In a way we can even be glad about that, if we take the lass “Fannie Mae” as an example, which wearily circles the standard blues form with zero substance. Montoya can’t come up with anything more than bare routine here.
Luckily, and to everyone’s general relief, Montoya pulls off yet another rather unexpected maneuver, this time a fairly confident dive into funk waters, nicely wrapped up with “Don’t Go Makin’ Plans”. The nod to the old form is as fleeting as it is sudden, but you’ll gladly welcome it with open arms. Experience evidently remains Montoya’s virtue; the old-timer hasn’t run out of ideas for placing well-developed backing vocals, nor for dictating the responses of otherwise rather shyly lined-up horn arrangements. Let’s hope Montoya keeps this in mind when piecing together the next album. A return to the essence would surely see Montoya come out of it much better!
Line-up
Coco Montoya: guitar, vocals
Keb’ Mo’: rhythm guitar
Jeff Paris: keyboards
Honey Alexander: piano
Reggie McBride: bass
Rod Piazza: harmonica
Stephen Ferrone: drums
Courtney Branch: percussion
Production
Keb’ Mo’ & Jeff Paris
Tracklist
1. Hey Senorita
2. I want It All Baclk
3. Forever
4. Cry Lonely
5. As Close As I Have Come
6. Life Of My Broken Heart
7. One Who Really Loves You
8. Fannie Mae
9. Don’t Go Makin’ Plans
10. She’s Gonna Need Somebody
11. Somebody’s Baby
