This review is a special feature of Marq's Texas Music Kitchen News, Sunday, July 29, 2001 "It hit me like that first shot of tequila after five years... you have NEVER heard anything like this, I will guarantee you that." Rev. Buckman reviews NOT HAZY ONE BIT An independent CD produced, written, recorded, mixed, and performed by Davide Ravera "Hazydavey." Listen to "Wind from Seattle" (MP3) -- a gentle harbinger of change or a tornado in the alley? By Rev. J. Alfred Buckman High Stool Graduate Old Hudson River School of Folk Music and Dance Davide Ravera is a tornado; he is a hurricane; he is a wind blowing from Seattle to Genoa and beyond. He will blow away your pre-conceptions; he will blow away your mis-conceptions; he may even prevent conception in some places..... There is so much poetry on this piece of work, that it would be a life's work for someone else..... Davey reads your mail, whether singing in English or Italian, you can just tell that he's been all those places that your soul has been and maybe a few more nobody likes to talk about..... On "I Got 2 Girls" (MP3) Davey doesn't Play his strings, he beats them like a poor boy gettin' beat up by some sailors on a Saturday night..... Insane, sexy, powerful..... Everything I like in a ballad..... or a tornado..... "Without a Smile" (MP3) really Is a ballad, with lovely guitar work, and lovely words and vocals from a voice that could break your heart if it's close to breaking already..... "I'll close my eyes and walk away, Without a smile I'll go, And chase my desperate lonely dreams down the open road....." Be careful with this stuff..... It gets Real serious here, and shouldn't be approached by the faint of heart..... "I Wish I Was In Barcelona" (lyrics), too, because it would mean that I was the younger guy that I used to be; the one that did things I can't do anymore; the hedonistic young bohemian that I sometimes love in my memory..... Except that when Davey takes us there, there is no pain, no hangover, no broken hearts and lives; he goes there for us, and of course, he dies for Our sins in the end, with his voice and his guitar going through it all, and leaving us free just to listen..... "Wind From Seattle" (MP3) hopefully, reminds us that not everybody grew out of the Sixties, doing well, driving big cars, with big houses, and big jobs..... There are still people suffering, and there are Still people that care about them, and speak out for them, and shout, and hurt, and even bleed until they are heard..... "Despite the lies that they will tell, A brand new season's just begun....." YOUR politics don't matter; YOUR easychair opinions will be left behind; it's happening and it's time to pick a side again..... If I ever thought one of my favorite songs ever would be called "Sonya Yana Meme Komba" (mp3) well, one of us is crazy, or hazy or maybe both..... But, it is probably my favorite song this year...... Here comes another one that is insane, sexy, and powerful..... "Lick my face and shake your hips, Like the girls on magazines....." Jeez, Louise, I'm sweatin' just listening to it again..... Davey not only looks into OUR hearts, but he lets us into his house late at night when only he and one [or two] others are there; hot, sweaty, private, meant only for his eyes and ears and touch, but somehow we're right there sharing these intimacies right along with them; shy, embarrassed at the sight, but unable to turn away...... Don't ever make the mistake of thinking that you know what Davide will do next..... You could never make this stuff up yourself or predict the direction he will take you next..... It is really exciting the first time out, and even better the second time..... I've always thought that the best art, and the best music is the kind that hits you the first time, but then gets better as time and life go on, and the years change you and in so doing change the art..... This is the stuff that this album is made of..... It's not going to fade like a pop hit, but just get better as life smiles or frowns on our lives..... This is a piece of work that has taken me a long time to write about; and it gnawed at me, wouldn't leave me alone until I dealt with it, and then it hit me like that first shot of tequila after five years; "Not Hazy One Bit" is almost done a disservice to try to describe it to someone with simply words; it deserves your EARS, your BRAIN, your HEART..... Listen to it a few times with your eyes closed; then go to the website and print out ALL the words..... Davide, and The Maestro, and Bone have created a world within a world for us to go to when we want to..... They and He have poured ALL they have into this..... There's a quote from Johnny Lydon [aka Johnny Rotten] that makes me think of this album: "I love them cause they sing as if the world is ending." There's Jack and Neal, and Dean Moriarty, and The Silence, and the Lighthouses, and the women, and the characters and places lots of us have never known or been to...... You have NEVER heard anything like this, I will guarantee you that..... Let it take you to those places you may never go on your own..... Davide Ravera is a tornado; he is a hurricane; he's a "wind blowin' from the backroads and headin' South;" he is a force to be reckoned with in this brave new world of music, and he is certainly a wind blowing from Seattle to Genoa and beyond..... Hazydavey's Calendar (Includes radio and media events.) To order CDs or to book a show, contact hazydavey@libero.it or at hazydavey2001@yahoo.com Click here to feedback to Rev. J. Alfred Buckman. Visit Camp Buckman It'll do you more good than two or three shelves full of those costly name-brand tonics, teas, roots, & remedies! Drawing of Rev. Buckman (above) by Hugh 0'Mara (The Hughster), courtesy of "The Hughsterville Chronicle." Buckman's Archives: #2 A Christmas Meditation Buckman's Archives: #3 Dance! A New Year's Poem Buckman's Archives: #4 Do You Like Show Tunes? Buckman's Archives: #5 Strange Encounter with Polar Bear Buckman's Archives: #6 Strange Rhapsody on FRISCO MABLE JOY with Polar Bear Buckman's Archives: #7 Buckman in transition and on Books 'n' Music Buckman's Archives: #8 Sailing to Philadelphia with a Polar Bear Buckman's Archives: #9 Live in New York City: Bruce Springsteen& the E Street Band Return to Marq's Texas Music Kitchen News Home © 1995-2001 Lone Star Webstation and Marq's Texas Music Kitchen created and maintained by Marquetta Herring. All names, images, music, text and other items contained within are copyrighted material of the respective artists and/or their representative agents, unless otherwise specified (where known). If anyone objects to the use of any of these, please e-mail me and said items will be removed.