There's an old
Mahalia Jackson LP that also kicks off with "I'm Going to Live the Life I Sing About in My Song." In comparison
the Sights' Eddie Baranek isn't the world's greatest gospel singer. But he lights into that old
Thomas A. Dorsey hymn with a fervent belief and a desire to rock, and launches
the Sights' New Line debut with a proper kick in the soul. Robert Emmett II's Hammond organ and piano basslines roar when they need to, leading Baranek's freaked-out guitar on the stomping "Circus," fueling "Last Chance"'s heavy blues-rock bottom end. But Emmett has a softer touch for the backgrounds of "Baby's Knocking Me Down," a gorgeous song that could be a lost
Badfinger side, and he matches Mike Trombley's drums for the tingling stops and starts of "Will I Be True?" This is how
the Sights make rock & roll. They're restless in every song, pushing fluttering vocal harmonies into blistering psychedelic guitar and melodic left turns on the keys, writing what seems like a warm late-'60s ballad ("Waiting on a Friend"), but then dropping its punch line -- "I don't care about what happens to you". It makes for a wildly unpredictable album, but one that succeeds mightily on real, warm-blooded songwriting instead of easy-to-please hooks. (No mistake though, it has those too.) He was no slouch on 2002's
Got What We Want, but Baranek's voice has somehow grown stronger. The greater breadth in
Sights' songcraft not only gives him room to scream, it lets him show off some wickedly cynical lyrics. Somebody hurt this boy, and it's in the strain of every note. He's living his words as
the Sights pound rock, blues, and heavy R&B into new kinds of songs. Let's call it the gospel according to the power trio. ~ Johnny Loftus