John Taglieri – Wide Awake & Dreaming

John Taglieri – Wide Awake & Dreaming / 2006 Leap Dog / 15 Tracks / http://www.johntaglieri.com /

“Wide Awake & Dreaming” is John Taglieri’s fourth album; with a number of accolades already under eir belt, I have high expectations for “Wide Awake & Dreaming”. “Starring Role” does not completely live up to these expectations, as the pop music that Taglieri plays is nothing different from a number of artists on the circuit at the time. The only things that could be seen as differences between Taglieri and the rest of the bands out now would have to be the fact that Taglieri has a solid production on this album, and that Taglieri’s compositions are polished as can be. It is during the disc’s second track that individuals start to get a glimpse of why Taglieri has won all of these albums.

During this track, “Falling Through”, Taglieri calls forward the spirit of eighties/nineties Bon Jovi for inspiration. The resulting track is one that could easily make it onto the “greatest hits” of the nineties, a fact made all the more amazing considering that Taglieri cut this track in the post-millennium period. The title track of this album is more of the same soft interpretation of rock music, and while the song does not bring anything new to the table, it continues the thread of music that was first started by “Starring Role”.  “Waiting For Me” is a track that moves Taglieri even more into the “pop” sphere of things, due to the fact that the guitar largely drops out and is replaced mainly by the piano.

This track is much more emotive than the rest of the tracks on “Wide Awake & Dreaming” and could be a hit in the Dishwalla or Blessid Union of Souls sense. It is by this point of the disc that I really recognized that it seems time in and time out that Taglieri is cutting single after single. Sure, there is not the type of experimental approach that a number of zines like, but Taglieri works perfect in this genre. I think the efforts that Taglieri took on the three albums before “Wide Awake & Dreaming” have allowed eir to go forth and really come out with a smooth and polished album that practically anyone that likes music can like something in. This is good music, especially when one is driving along bring highways and passing wide fields; this is the music of America, and this is Taglieri.

Top Tracks: Falling Through, Starring Role

Rating: 5.7/10