MUSIC REVIEWS by Linda Bennett

and special guest Reviewers

     To be considered:  linda@all4themusic.com

RASPIN

“WE DO WHAT WE DO”

Raspin Stuwart: A Showstopper with Soul

By PAUL ZOLLO 

Raspin Stuwart is in the business of showstopping. Even solo with just voice and guitar, he knows how to get an audience to listen, and to laugh and cry. He’s a musical force of nature, as evidenced by recent standing room only shows at West Valley Music Center, a new and intimate listening room in West Hills, as well as at the venerated Molly Malone’s in Hollywood.  Whether performing an original yet quite authentic blues (“Mama’s Got The Blues”) or his paean to life celebration, “Smoke The Hookah,” he sings his heart out in each song, and is as soulful as Richie Havens – both in his percussive acoustic guitar style (“I play the guitar like a drum,” he said) and his rich and spellbinding vocals. Opening with “Mama’s Got the Blues,” he brought a directness and  authenticity to the blues rarely heard these days, and the audience was in his hands from that moment on. His repartee is relaxed and humorous, which eases his audience into the seriousness of his songs. “We Do What We Do,” the title song of his solo CD, is a wonderful song of acceptance, of understanding how to live life on a spiritual path. Throughout the show, his message is about living a spiritual life even in this physical world, and accepting that each of us in our own path of lessons to be learned. His voice is a resonant baritone, and his singing is dramatic and pointed without being overblown. “Rumblin’ & Tumblin’” is a rhythmic jaunt, while “Dream” is beautiful and heartfelt with a strident melody and gentle intention. And it all ended with the aforementioned “Smoke The Hookah,” which is a song about rising above the mundane to celebrate being alive – a celebration of dance and music and hookah-smoking. At his sold-out Molly Malone’s show, he brought the house down with his encore of a heavenly jazz ballad called “Road Man” that left this room of hipsters hungry for more. His performances are alive and now, and very much the product of a dedicated and focused artist with strong material and a love of music. And it’s a love that genuinely infectious; Starbucks has recently added his songs, in constant rotation, to their in-store music throughout the country. Raspin’s the real thing, and not to be missed. For more information:   www.raspinstuwart.com.