Boston area’s Chris Steele is a pleasant listen. His witty and wise observations of life are married to his sweetly sincere vocal. His songs are personal enough to remind listeners of something whispered into their ears by a confidant. A huge Rush fan growing up, it’s only natural that Steele wraps his singer-songwriter observations and sentiments in driving, uptempo trappings. His keen observations of life are almost always delivered with his rocking multi instrumentalist verve and purpose.
“Bus Ride” jumps right in with perky drum fills propelling this vehicle at a brisk pace. Bouncy, uptempo guitars, including a sharp, edgy lead guitar, keep the motion three dimensional, a lot of moving parts. Using this motivational, speedy platform, Steele asserts his firm, homey vocal timbre over all with a perfect sense of acceleration. The listener just wants to hop in and enjoy the fun ride.
“I Am Not Well” puts enough drum fills into the bottom to give things snap. Above that persistent punch, flinty guitars and bass jump in sync as Steele finds open spaces in the groove to inject his plaintive vocal. This vocal moves into place like a boxer in a ring to start its serious work. A speedy chorus, lively acoustic and electric guitar bounce, and an airy backing vocal weave this into a fine spark of fun.
“Apropos Of Nothing” finds Steele’s voice smoothly gliding over a persistent wedge patter of instrumentation. His support players have got it going on, cranking out that motion, that driving wheel of sound. There is a sense of freedom here that reminds of all the chirpy pop songs from the 1960s. It’s a treat to hear Steele’s amicable vocal timbre and lively delivery. Again, Steele and his own self on all the instruments make the listener feel he’s going some place special with the shiny, fun accompaniment and the sense of joy as Steele sings his heart out.
“Heart Of A Young Man” rocks right out. Riffy guitar, a driven rhythm section, and Steele’s edgier timbre ride the wave like west coast hotshots. A crusty edge in the guitar gives a fine push as numerous nudges from the rhythm section turn up the voltage. This song, despite its singer-songwriter sensibility, belongs on rock stations because it packs so many idioms from that genre. Stuffed with muscular playing, “Heart Of A Young Man” races toward what feels is going to be a rock star’s fatal crash.
Percolating quiet notes develop “It’s All Right” from a sly whisper to a pleasant mid-tempo rocker. Steele follows suit vocally, becoming more assertive as he moves forward. This tune perfectly balances its softer beginning with its eventual brisk pace. A lead guitar reaches beyond the song’s initial plateau, showing how well Steele has planned the architecture for this breezy dandy.
A lot of tone in the guitars give “Long Road” a strong plaintive feeling. Brief jumpy notes bounce around to give a quaint personality. Against that backdrop Steele only needs to unleash his sweet, amicable vocal. His soft timbre finds a good home amid those jumping bean notes as well as a sunny lead guitar vibe.
“I Got Mine,” loaded with rocking chords, a fun thumping bass line, and a plenty of drum fills, skips along its merry way with a bounce in its step. All of those spirited notes keep the locomotive chugging down the tracks. Steele, again, stretches and wraps his vocal over a racing accompaniment. This adds another layer of motion to a song that makes you want it to let you on the merry go round.
The funkiest song on this album, “Dossier,” finds Steele and his self-accompaniment rolling out bopping bass and drums and twittering lead guitar support to his sly vocal. He sings in a slightly suspicious tone, creating an escape artist alluding the authorities vibe. Terrance Reeves rocking organ swirls layer this in something blues and Deep Purple at once. Steele certainly knows how to create the perfect scene for what he is singing about. This one is wicked good.
“Careful What You Wish For” rocks right out with an eerie, edgy lead guitar, one that sounds slightly futuristic with a high pitched overtone. A second guitar line creates a perfect rock and roll fuzz. Once Steele develops his cottony blur of electric six strings, he sings in a carefully considered pace, only so much vocal in each meter. This makes his song a well designed piece of action packed drama.
Close out track “All’s Well That Ends” is one of those perfect final tracks that feels like goodbye for now while also standing on its own with its other merits. A broad, mellow acoustic guitar strum sets a beauty of a support. Steele’s sweet voice fits right into the sound, as if the guitar and the lead vocal are running alongside each other. A dandy chorus, catchy and pretty, makes perfectly sad sense and the song ends the album with a sense of melancholy and hope at once.
The album was produced by Steele and Reeves at Elliot Linden Studios, Massachusetts. Chris Steele makes a lot of strides on this Tales Told Out Of School album. He usually hits his mark with both his fetching melodies and his engaging lyrics. He’s just one of those folks who found it a good formula to match his singer-songwriter sensibilities with his rock and roll flare. Bravo.
