Music Review - `Flying First Class ` by Pete Mancini (bm)
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Pete Mancini - Flying First Class (click on image to watch video)
27 July 2019
New York rocker turned Americana singer-songwriter Pete Mancini paints a broad picture of our society while teaching a survey course on how folk and country music shaped the first 20 or so years of rock ‘n’ roll with his sophomore solo album Flying First Class.
His exploration of modern society begins with the cleverly titled “Pine Box Derby.” It’s a cross between the organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts’ pinewood derby and country and folk’s obsession with that last ride in a pine box. It’s a brilliant balance between remembering childhood innocence and grappling with mortality.
From there, listeners continue on this journey through the past with the Byrdsian country-rocker “My Hometown,” the West Coast country-inspired plea for responsible drinking “DUI Blues,” bluesy jam “SLA Check,” banjo tune “Back in Bakersfield” and the title track, a homage to the early years of foot-stomping rock ‘n’ roll. The obligatory comparisons to the before-mentioned Byrds and Gram Parsons make sense, but Mancini’s musical palette spans well beyond the psychedelic ‘60s.
A lot of punks and other rock outliers tend to go the Americana route when they chart a solo flight. No clue why that’s the case, but one thing’s for certain: When Mancini hit the road and the internet to promote his prior album and live E.P. bearing his name, those necessary D.I.Y. means were old hat. At the same time, these songs should resonate with others first exposed to music outside the mainstream through rock and later smartened up to country and folk’s own traditions of defiant storytelling by social outcasts.
