Frank Viele Photo credit: Donato Biceglia
Meet Frank Viele: a solo artist from Connecticut. His soul-stirring music has recently reached a new high via his debut label release. The album The Trouble With Desire is a journey which takes us through the phases of love, life …and the inevitable trepidation that comes with it all. Now, his lead single “The Trouble With Desire” has hit the stage as a solo acoustic version for the No Worries Brewing Acoustic Sessions.
It might sound cheeky, but the moment I first heard the live version of Frank Viele’s tune, the first thing that popped into my mind was: “He has the sauce”. Do you know what I mean? It’s that inexplicable depth, a je ne sais quoi sort of soul…and then there’s a wonderful vocal smoothness which allows for effortless leaps and bounds. This iteration of the song also shows off Viele’s locked-in rhythmic sense. Just before he begins, you can hear a quiet audiation, counting…a small peek into his mind and musical process. A true music professional takes the time to ready themselves before that moment once concretely decides to begin.
And once he does? Here’s what happens:
An acoustic guitar (with a brilliant folkish brightness) strums, sets the scene. Then, it quickly switches textures to a more subtle palm mute, making space for the vocals to enter. Lyrically and vocally, the first verse acts as a hook, or first chapter. Oh-so-quietly, Viele lures us in. One of the most important functions of music is tension and intrigue…And with this one, we frequently find ourselves asking: What is next? And how will it all pan out in the end?
Through this one instrument, one can hear the whole orchestration of the original song. Little motifs from bassline, themes of the lead…all threaded together. And as we scale up to the chorus, “The Trouble with Desire” crescendos, and gets ever-so-slightly more gruff. Live performance offers us a transparency like no other- And in “The Trouble With Desire” the artists’ country-meets-soul-rock-and-blues shines brilliantly.
Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of seeing Frank Viele in a live format is that we can catch and replay all of those little moments. Where the vocals get an edge and where they back off…In classical music, small, subtle crescendos are often called ‘hairpins’. In this performance, there are a plethora of hairpins…moments like waves that touch the shore and retreat, again and again. This performance at No Worries has a level of depth and attention to dynamics that only an extremely experienced artist can bring.
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