David Anthony Zee – AfterTime

David Anthony Zee – AfterTime – Album Review

Say what ya like folks, whatever your opinion of David Anthony Zee’s tunes might be, the dude gets more JOY out of making music than the vast majority of musicians I’ve crossed paths with.  If you need proof of what I’m claiming here, just click on the first track from AfterTime – a cover of “It Had To Be You” that features him playing with the Retro-Pop-Jazz Band – it’s genuine fun.  Everybody playin’ is clearly having a great time, and as a result, so are we when we’re watching it all happen.  Is the video a little on the cheesy side?  Sure!  But when you lean into it, something magical happens…David is able to win you over with his Roxbury-esque head bobbin’ to his keyboard rockin’ – it’s honestly impressive.  After you stop paying full attention to the visuals, you’ll realize that Zee really knows his way around the keys – the man can play, and songs like “It Had To Be You” bring out a particularly inspired performance from the guy.  As for the history of this tune…man…what a neat thing to read about.  I’d imagine we’ll run into situations like this more and more as time goes by, but it’s seriously cool to know that the original version of this song is more than 100 years old!  Created in 1924…it’s amazing to think about what you see in this video and hear in the song could be packin’ the dance floors way back when.  I really do think that the flair David adds to his performance is a major factor as to why this came out as well as it did, but respect to all involved here, “It Had To Be You” makes for the right kind of opener.

“Baby Face” is nearly just as old if you’re looking into the history of these songs…it traces back to 1926.  Happy birthday “Baby Face” – congrats on making it to 100!  Credit where credit is due…I don’t know that I necessarily felt like I was going to need to listen to another cover of this song, or hear the song at all again if I’m being entirely honest with ya…yet here we are, and I think I actually love it.  It’s funny – I don’t know how many of you out there listen to music in the same ways that I do with how varied my taste is and how much I require variety…but like, I can sit here and listen to a track like “Baby Face” where the part of me born Grunge is like…you know, basically raging at me, telling me that I’m not supposed to like a song like this…but simultaneously, I’m able to debate that voice in my head with the actual audible facts in real-time.  I’d tell that voice like, c’mon now…you’re hearing what I’m hearing, and no it’s not Grunge, but dammit it’s good!  And it is – I’m telling you too – that’s the truth and I stand by that.  You might not be able to picture putting on “Baby Face” to have yourself a listen, and I get that – I’m only minutes removed from feeling the exact same way – but I can promise you it’s likely a whole lot better than you would think.  Same magic at the heart of the recipe, though this time I’d argue you hear the flair more in Zee’s vocals on “Baby Face” than the music…I really dig the attitude he’s singin’ with in this cover.  It doesn’t come with a video, but you can practically picture how he sings this song.

I like passion projects like this, and personally, I really like cover tunes because I love how many lives a song can go on to live after they’ve been made.  When something’s timeless…truly timeless…I mean, it’s such a treat to experience, you know what I mean?  It’s like living history, right there in your ears.  A cover album is always going to be cool with me – but there’s a difference between what we’d typically associate with a “cover album” and a passion project – something like AfterTime qualifies as both.  Yes it’s a record filled with covers from start to finish, but we’re not talkin’ about tunes you just heard on the radio, you follow me?  Where this generation hasn’t even let the original version outta the charts before scads of covers have already appeared online, David be out here like, hmm…I should pick stuff from the 20s to the 50s!  It’s all about meeting the kids halfway, right?  You gotta meet them on their level…we all know how much the kids of today are constantly getting down on the classics from 100 years ago.  I’m obviously kidding, and I actually salute Zee’s choices.  Whether or not people realize it, a record like this is what real exposure is defined by, because he’s bringing the past into the present.  “It Never Occurred To Me” was originally from the 50s era, played by The Four Freshmen, yet written by only three of’em, practically begging us to wonder why they wouldn’t let that last Freshman help at all.  How bad could those ideas have been?  Anyhow.  “It Never Occurred To Me” works too…I dig the gentle Jazz in the music, and the extraordinary sweetness of this melody came out perfectly.  The contrast is stellar…everything sounds so good and so charming that you probably won’t realize how devastating this song’s lyrics are on the first couple spins through it.  Solid tune all-around…it’s timeless songwriting.

Taking us all the way towards the late sixties with “Whatsername,” originally done by Peter, Paul And Mary.  I am…hmm…not entirely indifferent about “Whatsername,” but I might be indifferent adjacent.  Not entirely sure what to say here…I don’t feel like it’s David’s fault or the band’s fault…I guess it was kind of the opposite effect that the last song had on me – I just wasn’t really able to connect with this particular track.  It’s played well…I dunno…maybe it feels closer to that show-tune type of vibe in the writing, complete with built-in audience asides…that’s always a tough sell to me.  I don’t mind the main hooks…that’s probably the main draw for me when it comes to this song, and the rest is ultimately okay.  Like, I’m not offended by this, you know what I mean?  It’s still a quality tune, it’s just not my thing is all.

Rewinding back past the century mark for the oldest tune in the lineup so far, “What’ll I Do” is from the ol’ Irving Berlin catalog originally, released back in 1923.  Make no mistake…maybe you’re familiar with the name, maybe you’re not, but the facts are the facts – Berlin’s likely right up there with the most covered artists of all-time.  I mean, to be fair to like, ALL of the other songwriters out there, Berlin has likely got more than a few years on you, so don’t be too hard on yourselves.  I look at it like this…I like what I’m hearing on “What’ll I Do,” but every time I hear it, I start thinking about The Carpenters and then I start wondering if I should switch over to listening to The Carpenters because they do this type of sound so very well…and like, you’ve gotta satisfy a craving for The Carpenters when you get one, right?  I’m positive that’s an unwritten rule that we all follow in life, isn’t it?  Melancholy memories…I suppose that’s the vibe you’d find here if you were to define it.  I can get behind this song…it’s one of Zee’s strongest performances on AfterTime when it comes to his vocals…he really nailed the contemplative spirit at the core of it all, and brings the kind of reflective perspective to it that is essential to this song.

Reaching into the 30s for “We Just Couldn’t Say Goodbye” by Annette Hanshaw…man…Zee’s really tapped into a whole list of trailblazers to create the set-list of AfterTime.  I didn’t always go and listen to every original as I checked out this record, but this one caught my attention and I felt like I needed to know what Annette’s version would be like.  You see what I’m saying y’all?  Exposure.  It’s a real thing, and when it’s done right, you become naturally curious, and the next thing you know you’re practically falling head over heels in love with the music of Annette Hanshaw – so thanks David!  Now…I don’t wanna be THAT guy that is going to tell you the original was better…but…I mean…it’s pretty damn tough to compete with obvious perfection.  Hanshaw has a genuinely stunning voice that would be impossible for anyone to live up to.  David puts in a commendable effort, and I think he & the band also understood the assignment here…”We Just Couldn’t Say Goodbye” has a different swing to its cadence, and that was a good call to have made.  It retains the cabaret-like essence to it, but it’s got a little more swagger here.

“How Can I Tell Her” is another tune originally by The Four Freshman…and at this point, there were only two Freshmen left standing to write it!  I mean, to be factual and fair, between the two tunes, there are five different writers…and this is true – none of them are actually Freshmen at all.  It was a different time folks…you just couldn’t trust them shady musician folks to write their own material back then.  You wanted certified hits, so you brought in the big certified heavy hitters for songwriting instead.  Let’s see, what else can I tell ya…I like the melody…it’s a well-written tune…and probably not my favorite in this set.  I’ve got no reason to hate on it…some of it comes across in a wonderfully heartfelt way, and those would be the better moments it has.  I think…hmm…I think for me it’s like I’m still craving the energy that we got at the start of this record, and the last four tracks have kind of felt like they’ve sucked some of that wind outta the ol’ proverbial sails somewhat.  So while it’s still pleasant to listen to & enjoyable, it feels like AfterTime becomes a little stuck in place through the mid-section of the record more or less.

That lean and mean bass at the start of “Everybody Loves My Baby” does wonders to help restore some of that spark we were looking for.  Maybe it’s a case of absence makes the heart grow fonder and such, but I immediately felt like the renewed energy of “Everybody Loves My Baby” propelled this track to being right up there with my favorites on this record.  David’s slick and sly vocals were a perfect fit – and you even get a drum solo on this track too?  Couldn’t have found a place for one of those on any of the four tracks that preceded this one, that I can tell ya.  The stylistic sound at work on “Everybody Loves My Baby” is awesome to listen to…which I suppose isn’t all that surprising, considering even the legendary Louis Armstrong went to adapt and cover this tune at one point in his own career.  The song itself was written by Jack Palmer and Spencer Williams, way back in 1924.  No complaints from me about this cut – I think it’s hands down one of the best performances you’ll find on this album, and it was the breath of fresh air the record really needed.  Vibrant, lively, full of personality…it’s got all the right ingredients.

“Time After Time” has quite the legacy to it, and has been played by a ton of musicians out there, including legendary icons like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.  Written originally by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, this song is one big expression of gratitude and love and good things…I’m all for it.  I feel like it’s another strong representation of the music on this record as well…I might even be looking at this cut as one of the lead-singles to be the gateway into AfterTime for new potential listeners out there.  I think David has had several moments where he’s sounded charming in this lineup of songs, and there might not be a better example of that from him than what you’ll find on “Time After Time,” right when it was really needed most too.  This song pretty much wouldn’t work without having that necessary sparkle to it, so good on David to have tapped into that here.  Hey…look at that…me being Mr. Observant and all, I just noticed that AfterTime was technically released four years ago.  You know what I always say – if I haven’t heard it, then it’s still new to me!  While I’m sure a bunch of you out there will likely assume this is the Cyndi Lauper mega-hit before it comes on in rotation, it’s not that – but it might just be one of the most pleasant surprises wedged into this set; it’s definitely one of the record’s better inclusions for sure.

“Undecided” finishes AfterTime on an inarguable gem.  Great to hear the band in action on this one – you don’t really get a choice other than to be on you’re A-game if you’re going to play this song.  The original came out back in 1938, first recorded by John Kirby And The Onyx Club Boys before also finding its way to Ella Fitzgerald’s catalog less than a year later.  “Undecided” is a ton of fun, in both of its main halves (you’ll get it when you listen for yourself).  There’s so much SONG in this song that it’s like eating a full meal…your senses are literally satisfied by consuming this.  For as complex as it genuinely is, David & Co. make mincemeat out of the challenge and rise to the occasion – and for a full minute-forty, they play this tune lights out and make the most of every moment.  “Piece of cake,” you’ll hear someone say when it’s all over…or so you think…the band goes on to create an avant garde deconstruction that takes them straight into shared laughter by the end.  It’s a very human moment to pair with a song that has just made superhuman demands in the musicianship & it’s a brilliant conclusion to the set of AfterTime.  There are many great tunes on this album to be found, but none that will quite bring a smile to your face in the way that “Undecided” will…it becomes hard to argue against this being the best cut on the album.

Find out more about David Anthony Zee from his official website at:  https://www.daz-music.com

IF YOU WEREN’T SO BUSY READING THIS SENTENCE, you could be CLICKING THIS instead to learn more about how to be the next artist or band featured here at sleepingbagstudios!