Chris Vincent & The Raw Deals – Good Crook
Self-Release -2025
www.chrisvincentneworleans.com
12 tracks; 38 minutes
Chris Vincent is a New Orleans-based musician who writes all his own music and delivers the songs on guitar and vocals. Two recording sessions were held, one with Chris solo, the other with bassist Dean Zucchero and drummer Johnny Vidacovich, all recorded, mixed and mastered by Jake Eckert in NOLA.
Chris opens proceedings with the title track “Good Crook”, written after the end of a relationship. The fast-paced drums and country picking brings early Johnny Cash to mind here! Chris has a deep growl of a voice, often delivering a spoken set of lyrics like “Bloody Mary Monday Morning”, a solo piece inspired by a friend who took a job in a bar and was told by the owner that all she had to know was that it was bloodies in the morning! The spoken word approach also appears on the tale of life’s failures, “Skinned Knees”, brushed drums and reflective bass in support of Chris’ gentle guitar rhythms. “Screwdriver Blues” is another solo tune, faster-paced with plenty of picking. “What Johnny Said” starts off as a solo tune with a complex set of lyrics which were inspired by drummer Vidacovich (who joins in briefly towards the end) while “New Orleans, My Darling” is a jazzier tune dedicated to his home town, “a best friend, a cruel mistress, a temptress and a redeemer”, as Chris puts it. “Cows” was inspired by a friend who comes from the Cajun community who once congratulated Chris on successfully getting a song into a film, telling him “when the cows lie down, fish are bitin’” – which translates as “strike while the iron is hot”, apparently! The album closes with the rather strange title “Catherine The Great”, a song about beating addiction, the Catherine of the title wanting to quit drinking but failing to do so. Chris is himself a recovering alcoholic, so the song has a personal reference.
There are also two songs reworked from Chris’ previous 2024 album Things Have Changed: “Half Block Cadillac” is propelled by the trash-can drums and some slide from Chris; “Midnight After All” has a chugging rhythm with the bass throb.
With the songs being mainly spoken word and the music relatively limited in range, this album may well be an acquired taste, but those familiar with Chris’ music will no doubt be pleased to have another album from him.
