Retro-Cool New Jersey Soul Music Infused With Creative Brass & Vocal

This is a peculiar showcase and that’s exactly why I find it attractive – well, maybe not everything but the first track is a typical, pleasant pop-folk-rock easy-going song. What makes Danny Petroni interesting is this: he isn’t going for nor is he preoccupied with the big hit, he doesn’t care about fads, he seems focused on creating an image that is retro-cool, easily likable and yet has substance. And, he’s from New Jersey. 

Danny Petroni — in his cool porkpie hat, scruffy salt, and pepper Vandyke — has a real durable image here — part Tom Waits, part Curtis Mayfield and cleverly has inserted a tuba into the first piece and it serves as a very adequate bottom – who needs a bass? The man has ideas.

I like it when an artist takes something old, polishes it up and presents it as something new. Petroni has taken an old-style music, once very popular, and has reinvigorated it, his own way. So, on track one “Run Mindy Run,” Petroni unleashes Dorian Lee Parreott II on tuba with slices of other little complimenting brass for color and support. Then, midway, there’s that little brushing of a violin. This is cool stuff.

Clever little lines run through many of Danny’s original songs: “ain’t much room in a death room cell…” The bellow of the tuba adds a bluesy-soulful nuance. This is not the soul from Chicago, Detroit or New York — this is closer to a sweltering back porch Georgia dancehall soul. “….fireflies in the mountains…” — concludes with a military drum rudiment. Now that’s different. 

The album “Run Mindy Run” is filled with ten little surprises, musically, lyrically and performance-wise. Danny doesn’t hit the target every time but who does? Especially if you loved or continue to find some enrichment in soul music — down and dirty, unadulterated, and filled to the brim with a transmutation of old rhythm and blues with catchy pop stylization mixed in with liberal amounts of blue-eyed soul and northern soul. Where is this guy from? It gets to the point where it doesn’t matter.

What matters is in the musical stew, the flavors, and spices. Danny is quite the chef. Petroni is not The Temptations or The Four Tops. Let’s not get this confused. He is closer to Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions, and definitely The Tams (“What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am,” “I’ve Been Hurt”). While rooted in a working-class soul his presentation even has shades of the soul that English singer-songwriter Graham Parker provided back in the late 70’s.

I said earlier that it was cool stuff. I forgot to say that it has compelling as well. If this guy does nothing else – he will surprise you with how accomplished he is and how he has absorbed soul music and can perform and sing it as good as the best of them. He hasn’t merely taken a page from the book, he has taken chapters. The fact that Danny Petroni doesn’t look like a soul singer is important. Because he is not trying to replicate it or lift its image. Petroni has his own image, his own showcase for it and like an old car — he is restoring it all to its original glamour.  

Petroni’s voice is not that smooth Sam Cook or baritone Levi Stubbs. It is ragged but it immediately establishes its personality. It’s deep and black like Tom Waits, but he has a character in his street-wise urban voice.

For diversity, Petroni follows up his first track with more horns, but this song is like 60’s funk-soul and with his voice firmly entrenched in that style his gravelly tone grips like a soulful wall of sound. If Phil Spector was black this would be the alternative to Motown and Stax he would produce. Spector did produce some great black acts but they were all far closer to black pop-rock than soul — i.e. Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke, or even a Bobby Hebb (“Sunny”).

Petroni is powerful as a soul singer – he has the swagger, warmth, the graffiti-attitude, and while he is more from the school of Gene McDaniels than David Ruffin, Bobby Hebb or Clyde McPhatter he has the urgency and intensity especially of the late-career Gene McDaniels. McDaniels was a pop singer who transformed from his 60’s pop career hits “Tower of Strength,” “A Hundred Pounds of Clay,” and “Chip, Chip” — to the more aggressive Eugene McDaniels who recorded Headless Horsemen of the Apocalypse. This was absolutely astonishing in the 70’s despite its obscurity.

And this second Petroni track starts off with a typical spirit from that McDaniels effort without the added drama (“Jagger the Dagger”) of this track’s female vocalists. Something Petroni should add with a little more vigor. Danny’s female vocalists are in attendance but they never seem to surface with energy the way McDaniels used them for punctuation.  

So, on track two “I Am You Are,” DP digs deep into a funkier mud and does indeed come up with a soulful mix. His band is up to the task. I miss this kind of music. Petroni doesn’t abandon that approach either as he builds upon it on track three with “Wing Walker,” that is equally soulful, if not interesting. Female vocals should have been used — loud, enthusiastic, and gospel-inflected. It would inject so much into the performance. 

There is an edge to Danny’s delivery that I like and here he has a flair for a touch of an old soul group that dragged their rock tunes through soulful spices and often hit pay dirt in the early 70’s – Rare Earth. They had hits with Rod Stewart’s “I Know I’m Losing You,” (written by Norman Whitfield, Edward Holland Jr., & Cornelius Grant), the old Temptations hit “Get Ready,” and their biggest – “I Just Want to Celebrate.” Psychedelic soul. It all sounded good and today – a music that’s hardly found since most blacks have ventured over into a more hip-hop, rap and new r&b house of music. But, then an artist like Danny Petroni comes along and while he may be heralded as a savior of sorts, others may listen and grin and dismiss it all as retro and old hat. That would be their loss.

 “28 Days,” is quite a song. Nice back up singing, deep brass and steady drums with absorbing guitars. This instantly is one of the best tracks. It has it all. Melody, meaning, soulful brass, a great co-singer who hits all these dramatic notes as Danny sing straight with his masterful rawness.

If this was 1967 and it was released in the summer – this would be a great beach record. This has a different approach, but it maintains such a solid creativity in how it has been arranged and sung. It has a laid-back effective drive to it. This is not Sly and the Family Stone, but it carries that same intensity as that era and this song has that kind of memory attached to it. This is quite brilliant, and I lived through soul music’s most delightful decade. Chris O’Hara provides the nice sound on the drums. The song has some nice guitar and horns that together provide the hook to the tune. The vocals are what makes this song go from being just good to compelling. There’re some really good grooves here and this guy Petroni is from New Jersey? He didn’t hit the target with this one, he went through the target. 

Funky brass punctuates female backup vocals right from the start on this roller-coaster in a Ballin’ Jack (a Columbia Records funk band from the early 70’s – check “Hold On”) styled vocal crossed again with a Eugene McDaniels groove. “Thermonuclear Worm,” – a very unlikely title for a funky soulful song but this moves along real slinky and it’s quite danceable. Not a big fan of rap but Petroni wraps it all up into a striking mix. Trombones are deep and there’s also a bit of the old Genya Ravan band Ten Wheel Drive (“Morning Much Better”) urgency. The French vocal (Malaika Lacy) addition makes the tune have an interesting feel. All the music in this wonderfully arranged tune is tight, entrancing and absorbing. How could you not like this if you love to dance?

A nice funky bass crawl opens “Ghost Town,” and the thudding drums is sweet. Reminds of the band War with Eric Burdon — “Spill the Wine,” — that nice feel. This is a pleasant switch in the venue — more reggae-inflected and Danny Petroni’s vocal is expressive. He should switch hats though. Wear a straw hat, colorful shirt and carry a bottle of rum. This song uses the female vocalists excellently. Maybe the only thing that is a drag — is though it’s a reliable reggae beat it’s a little slow – the song is good it does need more energy, a punch of some other percussion, and the background singers should be a little more enthusiastic. Leave the drums and lead guitar alone — they are fine. Yes, I know it’s a ghost song and needs to maintain a mysterious retro feel but just go up a notch in the beat and it would be an irresistible toe-tapper. There is a voodoo feel to the performance. Petroni from New Jersey does reggae — and you know what? It works. He has the lyrics, the groove, the proper word inflection, and pronunciation to present it as authentic as possible. Maybe he wrote this one at the Jersey shore. I would have needed some sand and humidity to write something like this. One of the best tracks on the collection. 

Track 7 is more upbeat – “Sun on My Face,” —  it reminds me of the musical excursions of similar musicians who have gone to this very same well more than once and continue to perform to this day: One of the best examples — Australia’s The Black Sorrows (1983) and Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons (1975). Successful bands with the same leader — a saxophonist named Joe Camilleri – Italian like Danny Petroni.

These Australian bands are the closest “cousins” to Danny Petroni performing today – both in execution and vocals. I think Petroni has the edge, however, in the soulful department which is more dominantly American. However, if The Beach Boys went soulful with their beach and surf songs it would probably sound a lot like this Petroni song. The only addition they’d add would be their great harmonies which could be at times — soulful. 

This tune has some nice electrified violin, and it’s backed by some nice horns that bounce around between the deep trombone and colorful trumpets. Petroni’s voice is the centerpiece as always. This is another winner.

A reprise of “Thermonuclear Worm Street,” concludes the 10-track album – same as the first version with excellent musicianship but — a return to a rap tune with soulful voices, some unnecessary foul language, is stretching it. It sounds good musically with the horns and funky arrangement – but, by this point on the album, it’s wearing thin.

I will say this – the music itself, the way the horns work with the guitar — still excellent. Just eliminate the rap/vocal completely — would have made for a far better fade out on the final track. This is actually the only misstep on the album.

The funk is rich, the melody and beat are tight, the French female vocalist can stay – she paints a beautiful mysterious picture in the tune. Danny swings the bat hard after several home runs — but the ball this time is already over the plate and in the pitcher’s mitt.

If I were the producer of this album I would have advised Danny to keep the track reprise if he absolutely wanted to — but just as a nice hot instrumental jam and just leave the female French vocalist. Give the musicians a showcase to conclude the fine album. Nothing more. Petroni just doesn’t have the street cred for this stir-fry. His talent is far better with his soulful vocals, excellent arrangements, guitar playing, and overall presentation. The insistent rap and foul words — brought it down a notch. But no harm is done to the character of the album. The good stuff is all there. 

The 39-minute CD was recorded by Jon Leidersdroff, Tim Pannella and Dylan McLean in Asbury Park, NJ. The album artwork & design by Gregory J. Del Deo. All the musicians performed excellently on this album and there was a total of ten musicians in attendance. The CD is a 4-panel die-cut fold out with no inserts. Musicians credits are included and nicely detailed.

Website: http://dannypetroni.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniel.petroni

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this review/commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of No Depression. All photography is owned by the respective photographers and is their copyrighted image; credited where photographer’s name was known & being used here solely as a reference and will be removed on request. YouTube images are standard YouTube license.

John Apice / No Depression / September 2018