Kelly Greene ~ You Leave Me Here (album review) ... When Pat Benatar meets Ann Wilson!

Style: hard rock
Label: self-released
Year: 2006
Home: New York

Members: Kelly Greene ~ vocals
Jeff Berner ~ guitar
Kristoff Gerard ~ guitar/drums
Marc Capaldo ~ drums

KG definitely rocks out but is not a Avril Lavigne wannabe punk nor whirling in worldbeat like McLaughlin nor twinkling in coffee houses nor making sure her guitar makes her ass look good. The chunky guitar riffs behind her, even in the slower acoustic moments (i.e. "Memory (If You Knew"), draw directly from the alt rock scene. While for her voice I can imagine KG fronting either a rugged blues band ... though she's a bit soft for the style but she's got a range that would provide a good contrast ... or going in the other direction with soft pop ... though I'm hesitant to call the direction KG has chosen to go with pop, but there are some elements there. For those familiar with KG's well received 2008 outing I Wish I Was Alive her 2006 debut You Leave Me Here, with an equally sobering title, is very much in the same style. If you like one you'll enjoy completing your collection if you haven't already. If there's any difference its that the later album has some more layered arrangements with addition of keyboards & guitars. Actually, at times the rugged guitars seem a bit too punchy & raw for KG's clean voice setting up an interesting contrast, so the later addition is a welcome growth. I wouldn't call You Leave Me Here a sparser album, just with some less texture or texture falling more to the guitars which dominate the arrangements. For those wanting a comparison to a well-known musician, I'm at a loss. The thing is that KG's voice is not one you'd normally associate with rock music. KG is weaving through ground in between most of the popular female rockers you might name. Pat Benatar & Heart's Ann Wilson are names thrown out by KG herself. Benatar might have the closest sounding voice while Heart found a middle ground with music that didn't ever go to one extreme side or another, much like KG.

Kelly Greene ~ I Wish I Was Alive (album review) ... Bottle of crazy!

Style: hard rock
Label: self-released
Year: 2008
Home: New York

Members: Kelly Greene ~ vocals/guitar/keyboard
Jonathan Dale ~ guitar

Additional: Kevin Hanson ~ guitar
Roy Nash ~ bass
Mark Bohn ~ drums

There was a point a decade ago where anytime you saw a female musician the first thought was Jewel or Sarah McLaughlin & the intrinsic looking modern pop-folk scene, but in the last decade women have begun to share the fact that they can rock as hard & rough as any man yet retain personal lyrics that do something other than blandly worship sex, drugs & rock'n'roll. Further, musicians these days, men & women, are returning to the 80's hard rock sound of technical proficiency & melodies, realizing this is still great music with a long life, particularly compared to the number of three-chord punk rockers out there or shallow beat oriented electronica/hip-hop. Her press release cites Pat Benatar & Ann Wilson of Heart, with the comparison not far off for singer-songwriter-guitarist Kelly Greene. Pat Benatar might actually be the best tonal comparison to Greene, with the comparison even extending to her musical arrangements, the blistering guitars of her band & lyrics culling from broken-hearted romances. Greene actually has a soft voice that reaches the high notes without strain, though she uses that talent/effect sparingly, while at times she almost sounds too tender for the gritty music she's laced underneath her on this debut album. Greene has thrown all the traits of good rock album into the pot. Dynamics & unexpected moments are always key & Greene never lets the listener down, nor does she careen out of control with weird progressive interludes that many bands feel is the only way to be unpredictable. One of the keys to a great rock song is the use of dynamics, such as a melody line that actually uses the range of the human voice beyond a couple notes or not having the guitar solo always have to dominate (i.e. "You Are No Angel"), while it's always cool when everything pulls away for some bass heavy moments (i.e. "I Wish I Was Alive"), let a slower song once in a while (i.e. "I'll Miss You When You Go") & even having a song with a funky rhythm that reminds me of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (i.e. "Bottle Of Crazy") is a good way to approach dynamic variety. Following her hard rock roots Kelly evens includes the obligatory power ballads with the acoustic "Stare At The Sun" with chords forcefully strummed & synthesizer strings, followed by the more upbeat acoustic rocker that could very well be a single from the album& "Is It Too Much".