Alan Horvath | The Les Reynolds Review

The Les Reynolds Review | April 2000
Alan Horvath | Busy Being Born CD

Aside from making you wonder how many sets of guitar strings this guy goes through every show or if his arm ever gets too tired to play, Alan Horvath's latest release will make you want to listen ... intently.

It's hypnotic, but not gently ... nope ...

Horvath is raw acoustic energy. His vocals can be gritty, as well as his extremely percussive guitar playing -- which, surprisingly only at first, sometimes reminds you of Neil Diamond. This comparison, while sometimes strong, sometimes slight, can be made on several of the CD's 10 cuts. But other influences, like the rhyming of Bob Dylan and the social angst and energy of Richie Havens, can also be noticed.

The New Jersey musician creates an almost-chant-like aura with repetitive rhyming schemes and chords -- lulling you into his rhythms and words until, boom, he'll change a key and raise his voice (or use some other surprise) to kick in the end of the song.

Nowhere are all these elements more evident than the social-commentary, up-tempo, stream-of-consciousness Naked Moon -- a 5-minute folk-rocker that also features wonderful bongo performance by A. Perry Heller and mesmerizing fretless bass by Bob Hart. As an interesting addition, Leah Coloff and Chris Lee create a beautiful, haunting effect on cello.

For the most part, this is a very strong CD. It bogs down a bit into something less than spectacular in the middle, but starts out great and ends well, too. Caroline, the CD's second track, also features a great bass performance from Mike Toth (whose deep notes can be heard through Planet of Love -- and they figure quite prominently!). This tune begins with Horvath's great-sounding open-tuning acoustic guitar as he sings with the spirit of a balladeer.

Perhaps one of the best tunes lyrically is the up-tempo, rhythmic, acoustic rocker called Right as Rain. Horvath's energy and angst can be felt:

Horvath puts himself right out there on the line with every tune and sings every one of those lines like he really means it.

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