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Artist: John DeGrazio
Album: “Abandoned World”
CD Review: John DeGrazio left quite a positive impression on me with his previous CD “Revolution”. So my expectations were high in regard to what I expected to hear from him next.

He completely delivers and impresses once again.

John DeGrazio is an astonishingly multi facted, multi talented artist. His “Abandoned World” is a lush auditory soundscape. It is a luscious soundtrack to a dark dreamy movie that hasn’t been created yet but should be. DeGrazio’s voice is rich and versatile without ever straying into the histronic territory so many vocalists inhabit today.

But wait, there’s more. As with his excellent previous CD, DeGrazio plays the majority of the instruments on the CD. This includes, acoustic and electric guitars, drums, bass and piano. He has written the music and lyrics for each song with one exception, “Dream a Little While” which he co-writes with Steven Delopoulos. DeGrazio produced, engineered and mixed every track. He created the percussive programming. I would not be at all surprised to learn he painted and assembled the artwork for the CD.

It is at the very least very dangerous to take on that many tasks with your own creative ‘baby’. Most people have the good sense to hire experts in their prospective fields to handle recording, say, or the mixing, or the playing of different instruments, or even part of the writing. But in each area DeGrazio puts his hand to he is an expert.

This CD reminds me a lot of Beck’s “Sea Change”. They both are full of wonderfully written and constructed songs. Also they both strike me as cathartic break up records that are all at once sorrowful, hopeful and beautiful.

Go get it right now.

http://www.johndegrazio.com