Need I Say More

2005

by

Cherone

Personnel:

Gary Cherone – Vocals
Dave DiCenso – Drums
Baron Brown – Bass
Steve Hunt – Keyboards
Leo Mellace – Guitars

Overall: A wonderfully different side of Gary Cherone. Known mostly for his rocking out and soft balladry with Extreme and Van Halen, Gary decided to branch out and do an EP that is 3/4 70′s soulful pop. It makes todays radio R&B sound fake and soulless as he wraps his cords around some great tunes and some great studio musicians provide a nice funky backdrop.

A-

1. Need I Say More (Cherone/Mellace)
A great acoustic ballad reminiscent of Gary’s hit with Extreme, More Than Words. A bit more mature. The original internet download had an f-bomb that is edited out of the EP version for radio purposes. It’s a simple, nice ballad. The only downside is that it doesn’t really fit the mood of the rest of the album.

B+

2. Change My Mind (Cherone +)
Having no idea what to expect when I got to track 2, my jaw dropped as this was just sexy. Pounding bass, jazzy drums, soulful vocals. I know Gary had a jazz sideproject called Houndstooth for a bit although I never heard any of their work, but it definitely comes to the fore here.

A-

3. Yeah Yeah Yeah (Cherone +)
My least favorite of the three soulful tunes, it is a bit meandering at times and the lyrics are a bit substandard for Cherone, but the tune is still kickin’ and the voice is still singin’.

B

4. Love Got Left Behind (Cherone +)
Then we come to my favorite. Slow burnin’ jazzy and funky number with some great horns, bass work, and gang vocals. This is the culmination of a great album and it shows. I’d love to see Gary do another side project some day with more explorations of this style of music.

A