Band: Kyle Vincent
Album title: Where You Are
Label: Song Tree (private label)
Distributor: (Own release)
Release date: Jan 2009
Release: CD

Born and raised in Berkeley, California, it seems almost a natural thing that Pop musician Kyle Vincent would wind up at one of the music schools there, and indeed he was already enrolled at the age of 8, playing alto sax in an assortment of school bands, the highpoint of which came when, at age 11, he appeared side to side on stage with legendary trumpeter Donald Byrd.

Kyle went on to take vocal lessons from opera singer Claudine Spindt for several years, and also took up the bass under Joe Satriani. After playing that instrument in a San Francisco based Pop/ Punk band, he moved to Los Angeles to become lead singer/ rhythm guitarist in teen Pop band Candy. Six months after  that band’s formation, the position of lead guitarist was taken over by one Gilby Clarke [if that brings up memories, it should, because Clarke later went on to join Guns ‘N’ Roses, Heart, MC5, and Rock Star Supernova (alongside drummer Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe fame)]. Candy released their one and only album, the Rock-edged Pop geared Whatever Happened To Fun during 1985 through Mercury/ Polygram. Alongside fronting Candy, Vincent not only took on a job in a Los Angeles record store, but also became personal assistant to legendary Rock producer Kim Fowley, whom had Kyle performing on several of his recording projects.

Leaving Candy, Vincent was signed as a solo artist to MCA (with whom Candy first had their deal, before being bought out by Phonogram), for which he recorded the Trust album [a  co-production between Vincent, Clif Magness (later known for his work with Avril Lavigne), and Steve Levine (of Beach Boys and Culture Club fame)…originally  slated for a 1994 release, it only saw light of day in 2007! Vincent then signed to Hollywood Records, who issued his 1997 self-titled album. This album featured the hit single (went into the top 20 of the Billboard charts) “Wake Me Up (When The World’s Worth Waking Up For)”, a song he co-wrote with guitarist/ singer Parthenon Huxley (remember that name), and which made it to the movie soundtrack of The Other Sister (a film directed by Garry Marshall  featuring Diane Keaton and Tom Skerritt). Vincent’s next release would be 1999 ‘s Wow & Flutter for the Song Tree Records label (who re-issued the album in 2001 with 2 bonus tracks in a collaboration with the Varese Sarabande imprint). Also through STR would follow 2000’s Sweet 16, 2003’s Solitary Road, 2005’s Don’t You Know, and 2006’s Gathering Dust. During 2004, STR also issued a Candy compilation album titled Teenage Neon Jungle (a 2-disc affair featuring alternate outakes and live versions, as well as material of the 1985 album). In 2006, Vincent was signed to major label Universal, who issued a compilation album titled Invisible Man and the 2007 DVD Live And Unlive Too through their UME Digital label.

Which brings us all the way back to this album, the 11 songs of which are mainly piano-based Soft Pop anthems, with a pleasantly awkward remeniscence of late ‘60s, early ‘70s psychedelics in ‘em. Some would say: a collection of ballads…but Vincent’s specific vocal signature, and the underlaying music itself, make his tunes stand out from the run-of-the-mill ballad collection like a cherry on top of a cream pie…and tastes just as delicious! As a whole, the music is quite simple, mainly based on the piano, with some occasional sax and additional string keyboards to boot (all of these played by Vincent himself). The overall calm mood of things also makes Mark Browne’s occasional contributions on the bass stand out quite clearly. So do David Beyer’s drums, by the way. Not a lot of guitar on this album, in fact only on two songs with Tommy Dunbar contributing acoustic and sweet etheric guitar to “In Another Day” (), and Parthenon Huxley (aha, you dó remember, do you?) not only playing the guitar, but also the bass and bringing backing vocals to the beautiful “Emily Standing” (which also has a drum participation of one Gordon Townsend).

Get a whiff of the album from the 4 tracks posted at myspace.com/kylevincent (regrettably, that does not include the wonderful album opening “It’s Gonna Be A Great Day”, but “Emily Standing” and “It’s a Lonely World” come close in grandeur!). In addition to being a great vocalist and musician with a more than special take on songwriting, Kyle Vincent also happens to be an environmentalist, and one of a select group of people trained and authorized by Al Gore to bring his presentation of the climate crisis (as seen in the now infamous documentary An Inconvenient Truth). And, knowing that only makes me like the man even more! Now I know Vincent’s music is far from the usual kind of tunes the readers of this website get hooked on, but personally I have a much broader taste, and quite frankly…I’ve come to view Where You Are as one of the essential albums of the year 2009!

98/100

Tony.