Tonio K.

Item: Ole
Author: Tony LaFianza

Ole

(1997)

Reviewed by Tony LaFianza

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Label Gadfly RecordsThe Phantom Tollbooth1998

folk rock rock singer-songwriter

Before I tell you how great this record is, and it is great, let me digress the way Tonio does in the first pages of the cd book that came with the disc. Let me tell you what happened to this record in the almost ten years since its recording. Tonio relates that he and T-Bone Burnett put together the band, including himself and T-Bone with Bruce Thomas, Booker T, Marc Ribot, and David Raven, in the spring of '89. The band, along with such notables as Peter Case, Charlie Sexton, and Paul Westerberg, to name a few, began recording the album when suddenly A&M Records was sold, and as a result, people around the project were downsized and Tonio K was dropped because he was only a marginal seller of records (50,000 or less). Tonio had managed to finish the album in the meantime, but the company wasn't going to press it. (However, you and I know that some of the best music ever recorded gets ignored or never released because of some executives' bottom line being sales and money. It is a shame, but that's show business, I guess.) Here's the good news. Mitch Cantor and Gadfly Records pursued A&M Records wanting to acquire Tonio K's catalog, and finally bought the finished tapes of Ole, printed it, and put it on the shelves. Now, thanks to the good sense and persistence of those at Gadfly Records, Ole has gotten past the politics of record companies and into the ears of pleased music lovers.

The record starts with a tune called "Stop the Clock," with its rock-a-billy beat and pulsing rhythm, it made time stand still. We soon realize that this whole record is timeless. Recorded years ago, the sound is still fresh -- that's the magic of well written rock music. Even the second song, "Time Steps Aside," gives a nod to time not mattering, even stepping aside, to what is one's personal style. The song is the story of a girl out of a hippy time that is still wearing that era well. I think I know some girls like that.

One of Tonio K's strongest points is that he is an exceptionally good songwriter. He tells stories without telling you too much. He pulls you into the account but lets you fill in the blanks with the one whom the song brings to your mind. His word pictures include that of a long lost lover, like one of the very best songs on the record, "I'll Remember You," a lament of a perfect seventeen year old summer love. He may sing of someone you'll remember that is almost venomous toward you like the subject of "What a Way to Live," of which he says:

Now anyone that knows me won't believe you,
and anyone that doesn't doesn't care;
and anyone that spends a little time with you
will soon realize the danger lurking there.

As a songwriter, Tonio can fill in the blanks if it suits him, as well. One memorable narrative is the song "Hey Lady," in which he tells us a moving and true story about an abusive mother, and the kids she's crushed with her fist and her shouts. The record ends with the inspired song "We Walk On" about the shared experience of mankind of growing up, coming of age, running into disappointment, ...confusion and illusion,

through the floods and the fire.
We walk back to the future,
we walk away from the flame.
We walk back to the beginning
where we're given a new name.
We walk on.
We walk on.

Tonio mentions in the cd book that T-Bone would have liked to "finish" and re-mix these songs, but there was no way to get the multi-track tape and then to take the time to tweak them was out of the question, but this is still a great CD. Possibly Tonio K's most shining of moments. I've been listening to Tonio K's music since I bought "Amerika" in 1980 and his quirky voice and guitar driven rock has mellowed some, but is still stirring and strong, even more so. This cd is very much worth the trouble to find it if you're a fan of simply wonderful rock and roll.

4.5 tocks