5 O'Clock Shadow ~ Still in the Way

THE QUIET CORNER, by Robert Barry Francos

The Quiet Corner Best of2008 By Robert Barry Francos January 2008 One of Jersey Beat’s most popular columns returns as Robert Barry Francos sifts through a year’s worth of, well, quieter stuff – acoustic albums, singer/songwriters, folk and world music, along with a little rock n roll.

It’s bands like 5 O’CLOCK SHADOW who make me wonder if the Fillmore ever really did close. “Still in the Way” is solid Blues-based rock (aka “Classic Rock”), with a strong guitar, smoky vocals, and plenty of wail, both vocally and musically. Taken from a lost tape from 1991, vox/guitarist Artie Tobia manages to bring back the past on multiple levels. Thing is, they make it sound like it’s the musical franca lingua of the day, as if it never went away (of course, with so many classic rock stations around, has it?). If there were a time warp, these guys would easily be sharing a stage with all those British and West Coast bands. Perhaps they’re a bit too mellow for the likes of Led Zeppelin, but Bill Graham would have loved them.