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Slick Steve And The Gangsters (CD)
This debut album has no real title other than the name of the band. The show kicks off with a circus
march opening up a crazy schizophrenic world which combines the refined with the grotesque as
polished Swing rhythms give way to creative musical innovation.
Genuine, pure and sincere, the sounds in the album transport us to places evoked in the songs:
sometimes it's like you're running desperately in a desert, or lulled by the sea on a tropical island;
then you're catapulted into a circus or lying in a seedy old hotel room. The descriptive lyrics are
imaginative and reveal the vocalist's passion for magic and the circus. The music is a mixture of
different styles, but mostly draws on Swing, Rhythm'n Blues and Rock'n Roll.
No surprise then when pounding rhythms inexplicably transform into a playful waltz or if hard sombre
tones suddenly become bright and cheerful. What at first may seem as the double personality of this
group belies great cohesion and harmony. This is the unique well-defined style of Slick Steve and the
Gangsters.
The album's graphic concept is the brainchild of Stilemio, a club of itinerant artists, who have worked
with the band on videos and photoshoots.
The album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Alfredo "Epi" Gentili of Go Down Records in the
Italian town of Savignano sul Rubicone.
Two special guests feature on the album: our friend and musician Andy McFarlane provided the
backing vocals in Strait Jacket Swing; whilst the famous Liberty Bell March, the album's opening
number was arranged and recorded in England by David Hogan (Slick Steve's cousin) who also
played all the instruments on the track. Thanks too to sound technician Carlo Poddighe who helped
record the main vocal scores for three of the songs.
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