The Bottom Line
Nino Moschella's got Soul. And we're not talking Justin Timberlake-type pseudo-soul here, either; He's the real deal -- Nino can be favorably compared to the likes of Sly Stone and the late Billy Preston. Despite being an independent artist on a small label, and despite not having a lot of the production resources that major-label artists do, Nino's The Fix manages to eclipse most other recent Soul and R&B releases. Simply put, The Fix is one of the best albums of the year. Period.
Pros
- Nino's unique voice.
- The musical passion.
Cons
- Five songs are under three minutes long.
- Some tracks are a little TOO musically unrefined.
Description
- Funk, mixed with Blue-Eyed Soul.
- Unrefined, but not amateurish.
- Lively, good-time music.
Guide Review - Nino Moschella - 'The Fix'
The debut full-length album by Nino Moschella harkens back to the 1970s Funk days of artists like Stevie Wonder, the late Billy Preston and Sly and The Family Stone. The opening track, "Are You For Real," is a musical tour de force, and things don't let up much after that.
There are numerous excellent songs here; Nino has an amazing knack for melodies and blending sounds together, and his somewhat high-pitched voice has a relaxed, warm quality to it. At times, he sounds like a male Macy Gray (particularly on "If You Believe (You Will Be Strong)," but he doesn't quite have the same raspy spaciness Macy has.
In addition to Funk and Soul, Nino flirts with the Blues on "Strong Man," which has a drumbeat that Led Zeppelin's John Bonham would likely drool with envy over if he were still alive.
"Strong Man" and other songs have simple, yet uplifting messages; Among them, the aforementioned "If You Believe," which is reminiscent of work by the late Billy Preston: "If you believe in yourself, no one else will steer you wrong, you just believe in yourself, you will be strong," Nino sings.
Likewise, on "Moved On," he sings about the need to get out of a relationship: "I have been dependent on you for so long, it's time to move on. I have been dependent on you for so long, it's time to get gone."
The album's one big drawback is that many of the songs are too short; of the 14 songs on the album, one is a mere 3:07 long, while another five clock in at under three minutes apiece.
There are numerous excellent songs here; Nino has an amazing knack for melodies and blending sounds together, and his somewhat high-pitched voice has a relaxed, warm quality to it. At times, he sounds like a male Macy Gray (particularly on "If You Believe (You Will Be Strong)," but he doesn't quite have the same raspy spaciness Macy has.
In addition to Funk and Soul, Nino flirts with the Blues on "Strong Man," which has a drumbeat that Led Zeppelin's John Bonham would likely drool with envy over if he were still alive.
"Strong Man" and other songs have simple, yet uplifting messages; Among them, the aforementioned "If You Believe," which is reminiscent of work by the late Billy Preston: "If you believe in yourself, no one else will steer you wrong, you just believe in yourself, you will be strong," Nino sings.
Likewise, on "Moved On," he sings about the need to get out of a relationship: "I have been dependent on you for so long, it's time to move on. I have been dependent on you for so long, it's time to get gone."
The album's one big drawback is that many of the songs are too short; of the 14 songs on the album, one is a mere 3:07 long, while another five clock in at under three minutes apiece.
