Ralph Alfonso has been a busy guy; running a label, and a publishing a zine, and contributing to other artists’ and writers’ projects. Enough to make some forget that Alfonso has a bit of a recording history of his own. This is the first Alfonso release since 2001’s This Is for the Night People, a collection of poetry and a pastiche of music that wouldn’t sound out of place on the CBC, committed to tape. In fact, all of Alfonso’s CDs have that late night radio comfort factor to them… but anyway, the EP. If you’re gonna do three songs in under 12 minutes, make sure they’re quality. And they are. “Billy Fury, Billy Fury” sounds like a Blues Explosion song, a totally welcome surprise (I was expecting a touch more jazzy business, given what’s come before). Ari Shine’s guitarwork is the star of the song. Congrats! Next, this acoustic version of “Yesterday & Today” is total punk-as-fuck, unplugged power chords courtesy of Dave Rave (Teenage Head) with smoky snarled vocals. It’s bad-ass like you wouldn’t think an acoustic could be. And finally, the live version of “People that Love Forgot” rides the “Louie Louie” riff ’n’ vibe back into the garage, almost killing the original (save for the killer solo found on “Coffee, Jazz and Poetry”). Enough of the hors d’oeuvres; bring on the main course, Ralph! (Bongobeat, www.bongobeat.com) Patrick Michalishyn
Winnipeg music & culture since 1989