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Shasta: No More Smoking!

By Keith Hannaleck

Artist: Shasta
Title: No More Smoking!
Genre: Folk
Label: Mountain Thunder Music
Website: http://shasta-music.com
Buy this CD: CD Baby

Shasta is poet, guitar player, songwriter, and comedian all wrapped into one remarkable package. No More Smoking! Consist of 14 tracks chock full of poetic justice, tongue-in-cheek lyrics, rollicking acoustic guitar parts, and at times some biting electric riffs provided by select guests, that make your ears perk up and take notice.

This artist will remind you of Dylan. The influence is obviously there, and he openly and proudly proclaims his allegiance to the former Robert Zimmerman. Personally, I never liked Dylan’s vocals and actually this artist has a more palatable vocal style for these ears and he is on the lighter side of those bloody tracks, which is always a welcome addition to my stereo. The best example of levity and some fun sexual innuendo is “It Won't Reach! (My Hose Won't Reach!).” The track is an absolute riot and the music is just dandy as well, in fact, Shasta does a nice job consistently offering up some decent guitar licks on the acoustic. The man seems to have an innate ability to put the lyrics right on top of the notes so it is smooth sailin’ all the way through.

If you are looking for polished and pretty, you will not find here on this CD. Its WYSIWYG from start to finish and that is exactly why I enjoyed this music and the way Shasta goes about presenting his act. Now when I spin this CD again I know exactly what I am going to get, there are no false pretenses or surprises, you get “Modern Fixations” sandwiched in between a “Cold New England Rain” (lord knows I can feel it as I write), which have no parallels whatsoever. This guy has something different to dish out in every song and each one has nothing to do with the last one you heard. When the party is over, this is a notable strength and what makes this album what it is in the first place…different, original, and all Shasta, even if he does sound like Dylan.

Reviewed - February 15, 2007

Tracks:

01. No More Smoking! (live! Clean Edit) (3:41)
02. Outside My Window (3:51)
03. It Won't Reach! (My Hose Won't Reach!) (3:14)
04. Cold New England Rain (6:34)
05. Modern Fixations (3:53)
06. No! No Doctor! (3:52)
07. America's Home Town (bonus Full Length Edition) (4:38)
08. Condo-Commandos (3:26)
09. Stand Back! /Drop Down! (6:19)
10. Silicon Heartland (3:48)
11. Freudian Flowers (3:12)
12. America's Child (4:02)
13. Chasin' My Ghost (6:59)
14. No More Smoking! (live! Explicit Lyric) (3:42)

Credits:

Shasta: lead vocals, acoustic guitars, harmonica, effects
Ed Goldfarb: keyboards
Bill Hare: bass, electric & acoustic guitars
Rod Farias, Jon & Pat Driscoll, Jeff Tracy & Brian Masaki: electric guitars
Jeff Lewis: trumpet & harmonica
Randy Musumeci, Steve Rosebery, Frank Stewart, Charlie Sporck & Joe Rizzi: drums
Tracy Harris, Susie Slade, Monique DeMoulin & Lotte West: background vocals

About the Author:

Keith Hannaleck, known as “MuzikMan” is a Journalist specializing in independent and major music reviews and the promotion of artists via the various media outlets flourishing online. He has worked closely with artists, management, publicity directors, and webmasters to provide some of the best and far-reaching coverage an artist could have. Focusing primarily on the internet as a medium for his work, Keith has been a pioneer in the industry changing the way a reviewer with his various talents are used by many artists, PR folks, and labels. He has provided strong and valuable work to labels, artists, and publicity people, writing reviews, press releases, and biographies and much more over the years, giving the people he works with the maximum amount of exposure through several top-notch websites that post his content on their sites.

Hannaleck built and maintained his own website in 1998 while networking and building his reputation through thousands of reviews and interviews, creating a special niche for himself. Through many years of dedication and hard work, he has reached a respected level of competence and knowledge that is frequently sought by the music industry today. Known for his speaking from the heart interpretations of music and being able to put it in layman’s terms for music fans, his work is found everywhere in cyberspace and in traditional print media, from press kits to quotes from reviews in magazine advertisements.