geshSMOC’s taste of the week (6.14.08)
Piamenta
Live at Crash Mountain
label: Moni Piamenta
For satisfied customers of: Jimi Hendrix, the Allman Brothers Band, and Family Junction.
Available here at the Shemspeed store!
This album brought my house down. Literally.
While I did fall in love with Y-Love and his barrier-breaking brand of smokin’ hip-hop and am more than ready for seconds, there is no satisfying my craving for good ole rock n’ roll, particularly when it comes to artists and bands that allow guitar jams to simmer like a crock pot nursing a perfect chulent. On Live at Crash Mansion, the legendary Israeli guitarist Yosi Piamenta delivers such electrifying riffs, it knocked my block out when I just started to nibble for a taste of what many hail as the “Hasidic Hendrix,” ironically midway through Piamenta‘s cover of the guitar god’s classic “Manic Depression.” While this comparison may be unfair by the rock n’ roll standards of some, any jam band fan will find a smooth landing at Crash Mountain with the easygoing, yet intoxicating bliss of extended progressive improv tempered with kickin’ klezmer drizzled in a secret sauce of Hebrew and Arabic influence on the American rock sound.
Break out of your “Manic Depression” and rock out to “Od Yishama” with Piamenta here with the Shempseed Player!
NOTE: The Shemspeed Player will always serve the freshest course of the taste, so if you’re catching up with leftovers, skip ahead a few tracks to find your just desserts.
Bottom Line: Piamenta and his crew may not be the household name Hendrix or the Allmans are for aficionados of jam band rock, but that’s only because the tease of fame could not hope to match the Mountain of passion Piamenta has for his art.
Choice Cuts for Radio: 1, 4, 5, 7, 9
Acid test appetizers like the covers of “Cissy Strut” and “Manic Depression” will satisfy newcomers and skeptics of Piamenta‘s ability, while those here for the main course should “Get Ready” to savor “Od Yishama” and save room for the near 11-minute rendition of “Agadelcha.”
As Bubby would say, try it, you’ll like it!
