The Show is the latest studio album drop from New Jersey-based singer-songwriter Evan Toth. Its stylistic tone and overall sound are reminiscent of classic ’70s singer-songwriter records released during an era when The Album reigned supreme.
And, this nostalgic quality is brought even more to the forefront by the album’s backing band members themselves who are, in effect, Billy Joel’s core group from the ‘70s: drummer Liberty DeVitto, saxophonist (and organist) Richie Cannata, and guitarist Russell Javors. Classic Billy Joel albums Turnstiles, The Stranger, 52nd Street, Glass Houses, and the Nylon Curtain all featured these experienced instrumentalists, who today perform on their own as The Lords of 52nd Street. Original bassist Doug Stegmeyer sadly passed away in 1995, and Malcolm Gold has assumed the role.
Consider for a moment the sonic grandeur of such classic recordings as “New York State of Mind,” and pretty much the entirety of The Stranger, recordings for which The Lords are partly responsible. Echoes of this particular studio sound are ever-present on The Show, and Toth being a piano man himself, serves as an ideal frontman for such a band in this recording context, whose original songs are instrumentalized with the experienced studio musicians they deserve.
The Show offers the cohesion that ’70s concept or thematically-conscious records also did over the course of its ten original songs. Echoes of Billy Joel’s influence, via some song composition and vocal and piano delivery, can be heard throughout. Joel’s “self-conscious performer” songs like “Piano Man” and “Zanzibar” are echoed in Toth’s title-track “The Show,” which narrates his character’s experience surrounding a concert appearance.
And “life-advice” songs like “Vienna,” “Movin’ Out,” and “My Life” are well mirrored and reflected in Toth’s “Welcome to Your Life.” Concisely composed, with a concentrated main song idea and ear-pleasing jaunty piano and lyrics, it serves as a radio-friendly track. “Life of Leisure” is a catchy standout number too, with a melodic progression that aurally mimics the wistful nature of the lyrics.
Other similarities between the two performers Toth and Joel are clear: some lyric pronunciation, and an occasional tendency to edge toward the musically dramatic, which is well-paired with both musicians’ gift for writing melody. The Show though of course is Toth’s alone, and pays homage to classic rock favorites in a similar thematic vein like The Band’s Stage Fright, reflecting upon what it means to be a performer, and the ways in which the vocation can satisfy and deny the desires of the artist. There is a myriad of possibilities, and limits, that exist within the live show framework, and an equal number of ways in which the performer can greet this reality—creating the electric “anything can happen” quality so essential to the concert experience.
A lovely noticeable sheen on the listening experience of The Show, is the pro-mixing of John Arbuckle, who worked with Al Jardine and Harry Nilsson, and the final mastering at Michael Garves’ Osiris Studios, who worked with Ray Charles, Little Richard, and Big Star. Not to mention the charming and unique album art designed by Jess Rotter who worked with Warren Zevon and Rhino Records.
It seems one of the most important questions here is what do Toth’s musicianship and material, and seasoned studio players with an ability to reproduce the sonic setting of a ’70s Billy Joel record, do for each other on The Show? Does each party complement the other, and in turn create a third new element? The answer is of course, yes. Evan Toth is his own musician and songwriter who carries his melodic talent with him, and he’s not trying to be Billy Joel—but the qualities he brings to the sonic table on The Show are reminiscent enough to accent the “Lords of 52nd Street” players’ highest talents extraordinarily well.
