Eli Paperboy Reed & The True Loves - Am I Wasting My Time? [Single]

Q Division Records

Bands from Boston have to work extra hard to win my favour (not that they are specifically trying to do that), as my favourite band of all time, Pixies, came from ‘The Cradle of Liberty’. However, this is as much a blessing as it is a curse, as it’s more likely that a band will grab my attention if I know that’s where they are from.

Of course Eli Paperboy Reed & The True Loves share little else in common with Boston’s finest, because if nothing else, they look to go back and recreate what has gone before, rather than try to innovate and take music forward. And that’s fine, not everyone can be cutting edge, and nor should everyone want to be, but you should always put your own stamp on things. There is no modern twist on the soul music that Eli and his band produce here on ‘Am I Wasting My Time?’, and as I say, these cats leave no paw prints. You could actually be listening to Otis Reading, Wilson Pickett or Smokey Robinson, albeit one of their less impressive tracks.

What they do, they do very well, with excellent vocals from Eli, and a clearly technically gifted backing band, but with such little originality, you have to make sure your song-writing is damn strong, and, quite frankly, it isn’t. Not that the song-writing is bad, it’s just not that great, and when you sound like the greats, your song-writing is really thrust under the spotlight.

It’s perhaps most worrying that the b-side ‘So Tired of Wondering’ is not written by Eli but is actually superior to the a-side. Not that it’s fantastic either, but it does have a stronger melody, and is generally more memorable.

If Eli The Paperboy Reed has some gems up his sleeve, then bring them on, because everything else is in place. Until then he really is wasting his time, on me at least.

http://www.myspace.com/elipaperboyreed