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Carey Ott Press Release:
Back
from a couple of knock -
out gigs @ Canadian
Music Week www.cmw.net in Toronto. Playing as a four
piece with Toronto's Kensington Studio House band, The Modern
Primitives, they nailed
it!
Carey
joins a cast of his peers
to help celebrate Birthday
parties for "3rd and
Lindsley" and "Lightning 100", two
of Nashville's most
staunch supporters in the
development of Independent
recording artists. An
impressive array of those
artists make up what
should be a special night
in every way, shape and
form.
3rd
and Lindsley Press
Release:
Tues. March 29 - 2011-
"Lightning 100" - WRLT and
"3rd and Lindsley"
Nashville are proud to
be celebrating our 21st
and 20th Birthdays with : Gabe
Dixon, Katie Herzig,
Carey Ott, Trent Dabbs,
Josh Hoge, Cary
Brothers, Andrew
Belle, KS Rhoads, Erin
McCarley, Tyrone Wells,
Andy Davis, Griffin
House and Special Guests
- 7:30 pm
Other Highlights:
ISC 2010 : A recent
highlight is Carey's choice
as a finalist by the world
recognized "International
Song Competition"
for
the song "Anyone" in
the Unsigned Only category.
Finalists were chosen from
over 15,000 entrants, making
this pretty special.
"Anyone" has
been on two recent ABC
network television
series. "The
Gates" and "Make
It Or Break It."
ISC 2010: "Getting
Thru", another
song from Carey's
current Indie release of
Human Heart was entered
into the Pop / Top 40
category and was selected
as a semi-finalist. The
increased
competitiveness in
2010's competition makes
the status of
semi-finalist an
exceptionally noteworthy
achievement. Good stuff!
"I lost track of Carey Ott after his Dualtone release
Lucid Dream.
That was one
of the great
lost albums of
the decade in
my opinion and
it's nice to
see he's still
out there
making music."
- Easy Ed - No
Depression
Check
out the recent
reviews
:
An Epic of
Epic Epicness
Nashville
singer/songwriter
Carey Ott may
be only two
records deep
into his
career, but
with Human
Heart he has
unleashed what
can only be
described as
an epic. It is
20 songs long
and runs for
about 73
minutes,
making it what
us old-timers
stuck in the
vinyl age
would call a
double album.
Bursting with
all sorts of
ideas and
enough
genre-switcheroos
to make your
head spin, you
would be
forgiven if
you were to
think
that Human
Heart sets
itself up for
an epic fail
just in its
scope and
ambition. But
you know what?
It generally
works and
hangs together
well. There
are a bevy of
highlights to
be found here,
from the
rootsy Jack
Johnson-esque
"Ain't No
Upside" to the
Michael Penn
sound-a-like
"Style" (which
incorporates
lyrics from
"The
Star-Spangled
Banner") to
the
Madness-meets-U2
sound of "Wish
I Could"................Human Heart is a sprawling, ambitious
listen and one
that rewards
listeners who
want to hear
an artist in
possession of
a dynamic
range with his
songwriting
chops. Ott
clearly has a
lot of heart,
and if
you're looking
for an album
that you'll
have to call
in sick to
work to fully
digest, Human
Heart clearly
delivers.
By Zachary
Houle 14
March 2011 -
Pop Matters
*Zachary Houle
is a writer
living in
Ottawa,
Ontario,
Canada. He has
been a
Pushcart Prize
nominee for
his short
fiction, and
the recipient
of a writing
arts grant
from the City
of Ottawa. He
has had
journalism
published in
SPIN magazine,
The National
Post (Canada),
Canadian
Business, and
more.
A CD with
this many
songs, 20,
and this long,
nearly 80
minutes,
shouldn't
work. Oddly,
this one does,
due mainly to
the fact Ott
is a talented
songwriter.
Ott also takes
several
different
approaches
that make him
unpredictable.
Case in point
is that Ott
nails you with
the sincerity
of the folky
tone of opener
"Anyone," but
then
immediately
goes electric
with "Save My
Life" and then
wages a Jack
Johnson-like
singalong by
third track
"Ain't No
Upside." B-
- Tom
Harrison - The
Vancouver
Province -
E-Today -
Tuesday,
January 17 /
11
Chameleon-like,
Carey Ott's
second CD,
"Human Heart,"
drifts from
the melodic
pop sounds
mined by Neil
Finn, Peter
Gabriel,
ColdPlay, Josh
Rouse and Sean
McConnell.
Extending the
same up-tempo
nature of
"Lucid Dream"
(2007), "Human
Heart" offers
twenty tunes
and seventy
plus minutes
of music.
Being a
prolific
songwriter is
a good thing.
Having a
strong sense
of what to
leave in and
what to leave
out is just as
important.
There is much
to like here
including the
catchy opening
track "Anyone"
and the Peter
Gabriel-ish
"Bigredbutton".
However, what
might have
been a
bulls-eye,
feels more
like a
shotgun. Ott
reminds me a
bit of the
late Harry
Nilsson who
borrowed from
the fairly
wide palette
of his
contemporaries,
both in jest
and in
earnest, while
establishing a
unique sound.
Like Nilsson,
Ott possess an
ability to
craft songs
with keen pop
sensibility
and broad
appeal.
© James
Filking
http://www.minor7th.com/shorttakes4_11.html
The
Beatles made
a mark on
popular culture
of unrivaled
proportions.
Forty years
after
their break-up,
the uber group
still
affects musicians
of all
genres; their
influence
seems to never
go out of
fashion.
Singer/songwriter
Carey Ott is
one of those
rooted in
the British band's
artistry.
His
sophomore
full-length
album "Human
Heart" is an
ambitious
20-track
phenomenon
bursting
with warm and
organic arrangements
of catchy
pop/rock
melodies
that are
deliciously
reminiscent of
the
Lennon/McCartney
energy.
Co-produced by
Ott on the DiscoverRock.com label, the album is
a veritable
Hook City,
full of
feel-good
vibes and
grooves to
sink into.
The front-half
features
uplifting
material
with lovely
sonic
landscapes,
then mid-way
through drifts
into darker,
more emotional
territory,
where his
vocal chops
take charge.
"Be Honest"
is one of his
few
radio-friendly
pop tunes,
while "Coming
Up For Air" is
sung with a
Neil
Young plaintive
wail.
Heavy-bass
runs carry the
Lennon-esque "Wish
I Could," and
in the
stand-out
title track,
the
artist gives
optimistic
advice with a
gentle Paul
Simon
approach.
Several tracks
take
intriguing
turns into
more
experimental arenas,
proving
unsettling and
discordant at
times, adding
a South Asian
techno pad
here, a South
African chorus
there, a campy
European
accordion or
an unusual
lyric that
includes
most of the
National
Anthem.
Some of it
may be
head-scratching, but
undoubtedly
risk-taking
and gutsy.
Ott gives his
best vocal
performance on
"Say You Do,"
showing his
range into
falsetto
heights,
backed by a
haunting
production of
organ and
acoustic
guitar.
Lyrics are,
for the
most part,
poetic mood
setters rather
than
storytellers.
In
his melodic
"Getting
Thru," Ott
sings, "Look
at the sun/How
it paints
using
colors/That no
artists could
ever find/Look
at
that love/All
around you
feel the
touch/It
surrounds
you from
the inside."
The song has
an underlying
"I Hope You
Dance" kind
of alternate
chorus vocal
that is very
effective.
Melodic
repetition and
unmistakable
sonic vibes
push this
album towards
being sought
after for film
and TV
soundtracks,
more than pushing
its selected
songs up the
charts on Top
40 radio...but
that's a
pretty
desirable
place to be
today.
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