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CD REVIEW

STEVE MORNINI/I’ll Come Back (IAFT Music IAFT9801CD)

Steve Mornini is a songwriter/arranger who sings, plays guitar, bass, percussion, and handles the MIDI programming on this disc. With a few nice exceptions here and there, this is basically a one man show. I do give him credit for knowing when to bring in someone else because when he does it tends to make the difference in that song. Billy Davis, for example, adds some nice sax to the disc.

I have to begin by stating that anyone who knows me knows that I’m not a big fan of the pure pop arranger so Steve took a hell of a chance sending this disc to me to review. In my CD player, most pure pop efforts tend to last only through the first three songs. If those songs sound too similar to each other, which is usually the case, the disc gets exiled to the scrap heap immediately. I have no interest in artists who record the same basic track over and over and just change a few minute parts here and there. That said, Steve has proved to be an exception to the rule.

I listened to this disc several times before coming to any opinion because I wasn’t really sure why I liked it but I just knew that I did. It’s most definitely a pure pop effort, and some of the arrangements do sound similar, but not so much so that it jumps out at you. Steve remains centered in the pop genre but does manage to infuse elements of both new age and ethnic music into his arrangements. To make things even harder to classify, the guy writes lyrics with the depth of a singer/songwriter. The choruses may be pop-like, but the verses actually do have meaning. Personally, I’d prefer a real drummer and a bit harder-edged vocals but overall I still like “I’ll Come Back.”

This disc will appeal to the pop market and several of Steve’s songs would compare very favorably to most of the “big-name” pop artists who are currently enjoying tremendous airplay at radio stations across the country.

Steve Mornini can be reached at;

IAFT Music, PO Box 402, Walford, IA, 52351 tel:(319)846-7053