Description
One Deed is the sophomore full-length album by the American singer and songwriter Tony Vincent (Anthony Peter Strascina), released on StarSong Records in 1997, distributed by Chordant Distribution Group. The album was recorded and mixed by David Leonard at Secret Sound in Franklin, Tennessee; with Dennis Matkosky producing. Arranged by Tony Vincent and Matkosky.
This sophomore effort from Tony Vincent is an admirable pop release. The production and sound quality are stellar. The musicianship (handily handled by the likes of bassist Brent Milligan and guitarist Kenny Greenberg) is first-rate. There’s a fair amount of inventiveness as well, especially with the marriage of the guitar and keyboard, which share equal billing on ‘One Deed’. (And that says something considering the keyboard-heavy nature of most general market pop.)
It’s especially nice to hear touches of the classics – the funky sounds of the Hammond B-3 organ and wah-wah pedal, in particular – on many of the songs on this album, which help give it a distinctive flair. Vincent’s vocal delivery is as solid as it is flawless.
A good deal of the record is bright tunefulness. But Vincent has said he attempted to approach ‘One Deed’ from a more complex lyrical perspective, which translates partly also into a tour through the darker aspects of life. That’s reflected not only in some of the lyrics, but in the minor-key, melancholy notes running through some of the selections.
Perhaps the most left-field (in a good way) example is the album’s fitting finale, «Closer to Your Dreams». Starkly orchestrated with a few guitars played in a beautifully dreary minor key, the lyrics – especially the chorus – are full of hope for eternity. “Just beyond this world of sorrow and of pain/ Lie the shores of hope where seasons always change/ Through the eyes of love, I’ll try and help you see/ The moment of believing brings you closer to your dreams.”
The typical Nashvillian treatment of this song would require sunny sounds to reflect the hopeful words (i.e. “Let’s leave no doubt in anybody’s mind that this song is positive.”). But to his credit, Vincent paints a slightly blue background to the hopeful lyrics, which immediately gives it more credibility and complexity – almost as if he’s saying, “Getting closer to your dreams ain’t a cakewalk.” Amen to that. [Dave Urbanski, CCM, March 1997]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/one-deed/268701898)
CD tracklist:
01. Reach Out – 4:30
02. One Deed – 3:32
03. Do You Really – 3:23
04. Fighting Over Love Songs – 5:07
05. Polly’s Eyes – 3:55
06. Hey World – 2:48
07. Live By the Lord – 4:26
08. Can’t Have One Without the Other – 4:06
09. Open Your Window – 5:15
10. Closer to Your Dreams – 3:20
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by StarSong Records.
A full-page advertisement for Tony Vincent’s One Deed was featured in the July 1996 issue of CCM Magazine.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.