Tones from an Open Heart -review by David Thornton @ Rib Magazine Organically fed - 4 ribs. (out of five) As suggested by the title, these 10 tracks are instrumental interpretations of moods - mostly odes to loves lost and found. Barring the occasional bongo beat, tap of the tom-tom, body slap or rise and fall of a rain stick, this is ideal Sunday morning reflection music - with no frills to mess with your mind. Highlights of this independent release from the 22-year-old "Italian John Mayer", a transfer classical performance major at Nashville's Belmont University, include the exceptional "A Hundred Days/Dance of the Lilies," the happy-go-lucky yet tinge of sadness in "Dealing With Rejection" and the haunting, achingly beautiful "Genteel" with "Song Remains the Same" strings provided by his friends, Ashley Fisher and Justin Saunders. © 2006 David Thornton |