Lucciana Costa: Last Chance for a Pony

[Benjamin A. Vazquez U.E.]

Last Chance for a Pony

Artist: Lucciana Costa
Album: Last Chance for a Pony
Year: 2009
CD#: 48608
Localish?: Ever so very close to local - the lady is currently a Londoner, and the cd was released after she moved here, but she was raised in Ann Arbor, the back-up musicians are all from Ann Arbor, and the cd was recorded and released in Ann Arbor. I'm going to have to give this an "A2" tag. It still bugs me, though.
Canadian? No
Best Tracks: #1, #2, #5, #10 **#12 (see note)**
Comments Overall: Beautiful. Strong melodies. Rich, charming voice. Excellent instrumentation.

1. Devil's Currency, 3:18 - Polka-like rhythym, steady beat, energetic, lively, plenty of brass & an accordian.
2. Hallmark, 4:18 - Energetic, sweet & somewhat sappy - you know it's silly, but it reminds you of every romance you've ever had.
3. Pictures on the Walls, 3:35 - Somewhat folksey, limited instrumental palate, richer bit in the middle, changes often.
4. Speaking in Tongues, 5:04 - Slower, heartfelt, deep.
5. Prom Song, 2:02 - Rhythmic, rock-n-rollish, strong drums.
6. Weather, 4:02 - Slow, melodic, rises at the end, very beautiful.
7. Narcolepsy, 4:58 - Slow, dominated by the piano, majestic, breaks into something countryesque for a moment midway through.
8. The Four Ex-Wives, 4:22 - Rockish, constantly moving, strong guitar.
9. One Known Casualty, 5:34 - Begins slow, rises as it goes, soulfull, builds to a clear, open feel, ends with humming.
10. Everything I Knew, 5:47 - Begins slow, builds to a clear, open feeling, more rockish than #9.
11. Lullaby (End of the Light), 6:28 - Very much a lullaby, breaks into a countryish bit midway, loud at times, but still something you could fall asleap to.

Note: Lucciana Costa dropped off a new single at the studio some time ago: "My City is a Ghost Town". If it had been part of the cd proper it definently would have made the list of best tracks. As it is I'm hoping to put it on a list of best tracks for a future cd. In the interm a cd with the new track is slipped into the cd case for "Last Chance for a Pony". Think of it as a track #12, like so...
12. My City is a Ghost Town, 3:31 - Slow, longing, tribute to Detroit, heartbreakingly beautiful for these who know the city, and perhaps even for these who don't.

Website: www.costaproductions.com/lucciana/
MySpace: www.myspace.com/luccianacosta
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Lucciana-Costa/80024163945

[Benjamin A. Vazquez U.E.]

Regardless of what the case may be with books, you can usually tell a good C.D. by its cover. Album art, after all, generally comes from the same fertile (or not-so-fertile) mind as the rest of the music. Lucciana Costa's new C.D. is fronted by an image of herself. She's laughing. She's wearing a prom dress. And she's sitting at an Ann Arbor bus stop. And that's indicative of the kinds of eclecticism (and perhaps bizarre sense of humour) this C.D. contains. The music begins robustly with plenty of brass, an accordion, and a strong rhythm. Later tracks dabble in tunes which can only be called rock or country or polka. This is not an album where you can easily mistake one track for another. Throughout it all, the young lady's piano holds everything together.

The piano, of course, and her voice. The very first and very last sound on the C.D., Lucciana's is quickly becoming one of my favorite female voices. She sings richly and magnificently. It's not a classically sweet voice (although it can be sweet in its own way). It has more of an edge to it than that. Like she's just taken a shot of gin before stepping up to the microphone. Gruff but still magnificent.

The incredible thing is that she's twenty. But perhaps no one who knew her is terribly surprised. She's been singing since she was six, and playing piano for nearly as long. She's the granddaughter of Eddie Costa - one of New York's great jazz pianists. She's really just that good and we'd be fooling ourselves if we didn't expect still greater things from her in the years to come.

So, what now? Apart from a few blockbusters, the music communities of Canada and the United States tend to ignore each other to an incredible extent. CHRW is nearly unique in being a member of American organizations - most Canadian community stations aren't. But communities on both sides of the Great Lakes have much to offer, and the musicians of Michigan are, moreover, within easy striking distance of London. So the command is "go". Go to Ann Arbor to see this woman live. For that matter go to Detroit and Flint and Lansing until we've knitted our two communities that much closer together.

That, and we need to have this lady in London.

- Reviewed by Benjamin A. Vazquez, U.E.