Review: John Nicole - Still Love

John Nicole - Still Love (Mind of Music Productions)
Recently retired from a high profile media career that often involved working with musicians and directing promotional music videos, John Nicole is now concentrating on making his own music, and he sounds like he’s having a lot of fun. His latest, “Still Love”, is a 13 track collection, comprising of eight original songs and five cover versions - but not just any old cover versions. Nicole’s chosen to tackle a clutch of the most famous songs of the 1950s and ‘60s.

He begins the record with Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower”. There’s an argument, that Jimi Hendrix’ version of the song is the finest cover version of any song ever recorded, and I’m not inclined to disagree. So, a brave start, if nothing else, and although it doesn’t come close to the defining versions of the song, Nicole does do something different with it - a folk-rock arrangement, and an almost spoken word delivery. Of the two Beatles tracks covered, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Tomorrow Never Knows”, the former takes the honours, with a superb kitchen-sink production and animated performance. It’s perhaps the best thing on the record. Of Nicole’s original songs, “Celebration Blues” is in possession of a particularly fine groove, and Seth Kibel’s saxophone adds to the experience, considerably.
http://www.johnnicolemusic.com/
Rob F.