Dave's True Story

Dave's True Story - Sex Without Bodies - 1998 - Chesky

For the die-hard Dave's True Story fan, it's been a long wait since 1993's self-titled debut disc on their own Bepop label. Although 10,000 copies were sold of that disc, indicating its wide appeal, a new album did not arrive. Finally, in 1998, DTS (Kelly Flint on vocals and David Cantor on guitar and vocals) release their second album, Sex Without Bodies. It continues the legacy of smooth jazz-influenced folk music that DTS pioneered on their debut album. The sound is so unmistakably DTS that you can just picture yourself in a dark jazz club in Greenwich Village, sipping martinis on a 1920s-style couch, listening to Flint melt men's hearts, overtop Cantor's funky guitar licks. Sex Without Bodies features 12 new tracks and one old one: I'll Never Read Trollope Again from Christine Lavin's Laugh Tracks, Volume 1. Appearing on the same album as roll-on-the-floor favorites as Vance Gilbert's Country Western Rap, Patty Larkin's At the Mall, and Rob Carlson's Springsteen parody (These Eggs Were) Born to Run, Trollope was just too subdued and subtle to fit comfortably on Laugh Tracks. On Sex Without Bodies, Trollope fits nicely with the more easy-going theme consistent with the rest of the album. As the album title suggests, Sex Without Bodies is chock full of songs about sex and its implications for human relationships. Ned's Big Dutch Wife tells the tale of a woman running a brothel without her husband's knowledge. Baby Talk is a recipe for success at bedding the song's narrator. And the title track is a take-off on the false sexual goals of porno movies and 1-900 numbers. Like Flexible Man on their eponymous first CD, Sex without Bodies also contains a soon-to-be signature song Spasm, featuring the sexual interplay between Flint's alluring vocals and Cantor's guitar accents. Flint sings, "You've got a laugh that could bring me to tears. You've got compassion coming out of your ears. You've got a mind that's agile and bright. But that's not the reason that I'm yours tonight." As the mood shifts and the post-martini high fades, we arrive at the album's highlight, Once Had a Woman. Here the tale is told of a philandering man and the woman who loved him, seemingly overlooking his habit. In the last line of the song, we learn that the narrator is that woman. Simply a powerful song that brings chills up the spine. To see that song in concert would probably send most everyone reaching into their purses and pockets for Kleenex or handkerchiefs. Flint describes that when she's singing Daddy-O, she takes on the character of "a housewife in the '60s who's playing hostess to a group who are freaked out over Vietnam. She's wearing a pantsuit, has a Mai-Tai in her hand, and is kind of a ditz, telling everybody to chill out." Nirvana is a musical companion to Last Go Round, from their first album, in which the narrator must learn to become comfortable with being swept off her feet by possible love, after doing without for so long: "I can't deny this stranger in my skin, or is it just Nirvana setting in?" The only low point of the album is a cover of Walk on the Wild Side. Maybe I'm missing something here, but DTS's "beat-lounge" version of Lou Reed's exploration of cross-dressing, addiction, and perversion in New York City does not seem quite appropriate in the context of the rest of the album. That mystery aside, Flint's sexy vocals are prominent in the mix and are not drowned out by the tasteful instrumentation, filled out by drums, upright bass, percussion, vibes, trumpet, and saxophone. Despite being recorded live in a Chelsea, New York Episcopal Church with no overdubs, the sound quality of the CD is excellent, as one would hope for a CD of this genre. I highly recommend Sex Without Bodies for those who want to music to seduce to. DTS has no equals in the folk-music world. They are truly unique. Welcome back, DTS! I'm looking forward to your next release; please don't make us wait another five years. Edited by David N. Pyles (dnpyles@acousticmusic.com) Copyright 1998, Peterborough Folk Music Society and David Schultz. This review may be reprinted with prior permission and attribution. http://www.acousticmusic.com/fame/p00795.htm

It is not often that I rate a new disc as highly as Sex Without Bodies. This recording provides the listener with a view into the sophistication, intellectualism, recklessness and rebellious condition that defined the decade of the 1960s. Dave's True Story is the product of a melange between vocalist Kelly Flint and guitarist (and sometimes vocalist) David Cantor. On this, their second release, these two fine musicians and lyricists are doing what many attempt but few achieve. This is a magical, wonderful, musically engaging tour of 1960s lounges, coffee houses and beatnik hangouts. Flint's voice is sweet and seductive throughout this very fine recording. Her harmonious sultriness seems to be especially fit for this type of music. Lest I begin by erroneously giving you the impression that there are only two performers here, I would be sorely remiss if I did not mention at this point that this recording boasts a very competent and lengthy list of back-up musicians, including the great European horn man, Chris Botti. There are vibes, saxes, acoustic basses, drums, percussion and even an electric Wurlitzer piano. All of the performers are exceptionally talented, with each one taking the spotlight from time to time. Never overdone, the musical solos are smooth, engaging and full of the juxtaposed dimness and brightness of a gaslight cabaret. This entire musical performance was recorded live at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Chelsea, New York, and is the product of Richard Julian and David Chesky. There were no overdubs used on any of the songs, and the quality of the recording is, without reservation, true audiophile. There is a realness to the music and a perceptual ambiance in the reproduction of the recording venue's interaction with the musicians and their instruments that is quite extraordinary. The location of the performers on the soundstage is precise without being sterile. As I thought about how to best convey to you the strong emotional feeling that this recording imparts, it occurred to me that its strongest quality is the high degree of timbral accuracy heard in, and most importantly between, voices and instruments. The sound is, as my daughter would say, "most real!" In addition to some terrific music, there are some great lyrics. On "Daddy-O," jointly written by Flint and Cantor, the lyrics are especially entertaining: "The word from Saigon/Mao will change his tune/Let bys be bygone/We'll be gone by June." "Spasm" is lyrically hottish: "So let's get this straight/I'm not in for the long haul/So spare me the roses the wine and the song/It all boils down to the raw protoplasm/'Cause this ain't the real thing/It's just a spasm." A cover of Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side" is included. I'm not going to write about it; you'll just have to hear it for yourself. Imagine a sultry, female jazz singer belting out those lyrics. I assure you, Flint never loses her head, even when she's -- oh my! I listen to a great deal of music -- some good, much mediocre, some bad. When I came across Sex Without Bodies, I felt as though I had found some wonderful, rare artifact that should be put on display somewhere because of its simple beauty and profound complexity. Aside from being a reference-grade technical recording, Sex Without Bodies is a creative, solid musical performance that’s a real joy. This is great music. And yes, with this Chesky recording, you CAN hear the difference. Musical Performance **** 1/2 Overall Enjoyment ***** Recording Quality ***** by Jay Piriz October 1998 http://www.soundstage.com/music/reviews/rev068.htm

Recorded at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Chelsea, NYC, Dave's True Story's "Sex Without Bodies" is another sensational jazz pop album from the truly original Dave's True Story, and VHR by A.O.O.F.C. Kelly Flint's vocals can't be faulted, and David Cantor has got to be one of the greatest songwriters and lyricists in the jazz pop genre today. The album is also available as a special DVD issue. Listen to DTS "Unauthorized" and "Nature" albums

TRACKS

1. Spasm
2. Baby Talk
3. Sex Without Bodies
4. I'll Never Read Trollope Again
5. Once Had a Woman
6. I'm So Repentant
7. Rue de Lappe
8. Nirvana
9. Ned's Big Dutch Wife
10. Crazy
11. Daddy-O
12. Walk on the Wild Side
13. Stormy

All tracks composed by David Cantor except "Daddy-O" by David Cantor, & Kelly Flint and "Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed

MUSICIANS

David Cantor (vocals, guitar)
Richard Julian, Ben Monder (guitar)
Darren Solomon (upright bass)
Kevin Hupp, Richard Crooks (drums)
Emedin Rivera (percussion)
Jeff Berman (vibraphone)
Aaron Heick (tenor saxophone)
Crispin Cioe, Jack Bashkow (baritone saxophone)
Chris Botti (trumpet)
Charlie Giordano (musette)
Kelly Flint (vocals)

ABOUT DAVE'S TRUE STORY

Dave's True Story is a jazzy pop combo featuring Dave Cantor's intelligent, sometimes quirky lyrics, Kelly Flint's smooth-as-silk vocals and Jeff Eyrich's acoustic upright bass laying a solid rhythm track beneath it all. They have built an impressive body of accomplishments since their formation in 1994. Winners of the 1995 Kerrville New Music Award as well as numerous and various other surprising accomplishments, they have performed nationally and internationally to wide critical and commercial acclaim. Dave and Kelly met in 1989 through the Fast Folk group of songwriters. Chanteuse, Kelly Flint, a teenage Joni Mitchell freak turned twenty-something fan of Keely Smith and Lulu, had been singing backup around town and feeding her dreams as a waitress at the Cookery, an old cabaret where she befriended blues legend Alberta Hunter. David Cantor, a one-time student of the Berklee College of Music and an avid songwriter, started performing his offbeat jazzy songs at open-mics at places like the Speakeasy. Kelly and Dave passed each other like two ships in the night until a snowy evening in 1992 when they cemented their friendship over shots of Jack Daniels at the old Village Corner. Kelly proposed that Dave teach her a song and the rest, as they say, is history. Well, not quite. Jeff Eyrich signed on in 1998, bringing his upright bass and considerable production experience into the picture. Dave's True Story is an independent band whose notoriety has been built mainly by word of mouth and hundreds of live shows. http://www.davestruestory.com/press/about.html