"Promise Of Portage" (2004)
"Uveges' greatest asset is his songwriting. 'Promise of Portage' is infused with spirituality and depth. Uveges works at his craft and then hides the seams so the songs dawn on you."
-- Bill Reed, Music Critic, The Gazette. Jan. 23, 2004
"Joe has an excellent ear for arrangements...'Promise of Portage' is soulful and beautiful, touching the past, living the present, and seeing the future."
--Black Rose Acoustic Music Society critic, Stewart Levett
" 'Promise of Portage' is a beautifully produced CD that marks a new turn for (Joe) Uveges to more rythmically sophisticated and emotionally complex compositions..Folk and acoustic fans who haven't discovered him yet should take advantage of this chance to hear his new work. And those who've followed his musical progression over the years, well, give Joe a big hand...he deserves it."
--Kathryn Eastburn, Arts and Entertainment Editor, The Independent, Jan. 22, 2004
"Thiss guy is GREAT man! Where the hell did he come from? He is better than....tahannn...f....n ELVIS!" Yes, friends, that is a direct quote
-- Man who drank a lot on Friday August 27th at Zeb's Restaurant
| Joe Uveges with special guests: River Guerguerian (drums) Chris Rosser (electric guitar, keys, hand drums, bass, melodian, producer & engineer) Steve Hoke (pedal steel) Jim Sokol (vocals) Phil Volan (vocals, acoustic guitar) Lynn Rosser (vocals) |
Song List: 1. Still Climbing Order Promise of Portage at: |
Review
"Promise of Portage," a remarkably diverse, beautifully produced (by Chris Rosser, Asheville, N.C.) collection of well-crafted songs that can best be described as songs of human longing. Sound like Yanni with lyrics? It's not. This CD gives the listener a sense of home while tugging their heart on a journey. Uveges begins with a song dedicated to the best of what Carl Jung would describe as the authentic masculine ("Climbin' the mountain, backward, seeing only where you been. Feel the warm sun on your back. Watch your shadow growing long and thin. . . you pass ancient temples, giant armies, and the castles we made when we were only kids, soaring eagles, fields of barley, this broken taxi is 'Still Climbin' ") and ends with a song one part feminine soul reclamation, one part love song, and one part transgendered cultural renewal. ("Take her in, boy, take her in. Cleave your heart and break your mind in two. Weep until you're slick with understanding and she will gently slip right into you. Take Her In...")
The journey between these two poles is a sometimes sweet, sometimes tangled tale told by a series of voices: a catholic Great Depression mom from Portage, Pennsylvania, a Bonnie and Clyde-esque bank robbing couple, a taxi driver (cover of Harry Chapin's "Taxi"), a phone that talks ("If She Picks Me Up"), a cripple waiting for the healing angel to appear ("Rise Up"), and a father searching for his drugged out daughter on the longest commercial street in the world ("Lookin on Colfax").
What else sets this CD apart from the giant barrage of pop/folk/country that commercial radio bombards us with each day, typified by generic romantic ideals and Disneyish love stories? These songs speak to the truth of the human condition: the convoluted and intricate inter-weaving of the exterior love story (woman/man) with the interior love story (feminine/masculine). This isn't pop. It's not country. It's beyond folk. This CD is poetry, melody and myth entwined in a delicate kama sutra of songs.