Paul Anderson
The CD “3Play,” by The Will McBride Band,
is not only smart, but short and sweet. This trio really uses their talent to get the
maximum amount of sound from their voices and instruments. Will McBride, the guitarist/vocalist
has a wide range of styles on his guitar right down to the classic Leslie
speaker type vibrato you'd hear on "Let It Be." Drummer/vocalist Eric
Weaver brings something special to the album with grooves that illustrate rock,
shuffle, bump, and jazz swings, juggling them with precision and skill all in a
heartbeat. Rounding out 3Play is bassist/vocalist Jeff Hatley using jazz fusion
in his approach, and he too demonstrates that he can kick it regardless of the tempo
and groove.The track "90 Minutes to Nowhere" shows how well they blend together vocally, and Will's lyrics ride well with the walking bass line, and slick hi hat drum beat. Again, some may think they hear an organ, but that's Will use of the Leslie effect on his guitar overdubs…. done very effectively. "Mental Health Day" is the second track and while it is different from the first and last, it is equally impressive. Besides, couldn’t we all use a mental health day every now and then, whether we admit it or not? This is a very cool song about getting your head together when situations aren't so easy, which is something that most people will be able to identify with. The last track on the album, "Ultimate Sacrifice," shows blends of several different influences; I heard Chicago, and a little Steely Dan without the horns. “Ultimate Sacrifice is faster than the other songs, but overall the mixes are well balanced, and the production is top shelf. Will McBride gets a strong buy recommendation from me.
These guys are much better than the average band, and you will be far from disappointed by this EP. My only gripe, if you can call it that, was that there were only 3 songs, and the album is so good that you don’t want it to end. Oh, well. Guess that’s what “replay” is for.
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