This is the hardest review I have ever had to do. Every time I open the Jacket of Fish Eyed Blues III and see that picture of my good friend and fellow board member Jeff Bavaro doing what he loved to do, I find it hard to believe he is no longer with us. He and his brother in music, singer Paul Iannizzotto, again co-wrote nine of the ten tracks on this new collection with Jeff handling guitars and bass, Paul on vocals and percussion, and Pete Giordano on drums, percussion and background vocals. The tunes were recorded and mixed at RetroMedia Sound Studios and engineered by Adam Vaccarelli. JSJBF member, Burt Conrad Szerlip, did the mastering at Toad Hill Sound Studios.
The opening track is the hard charging rocker, “Eye For An Eye,” which feature’s Paul strong vocals and some nice slide work from Jeff, with a great bridge. In “Blessing In Disguise,” Paul sings about a failed relationship that, even with what happened, may be for the best. Jeff builds the melody around a great riff, and Pete is rock solid keeping time.
More tasty slide from Jeff plays over a chugging beat in the song “Black Belt,” and from this song, I learned you can get a black belt in B.S.! Another signature riff from Jeff plays over the song “Nothing Good Comes Easy,” but the line that follows it, “nothing lasts forever” was painful reminder of how fleeting this life is. Paul sings “we’ll all be fine” at the end, but we will never forget Jeff.
“Johnny Walker Man,” is a great blues tune that’s an homage to one of a musician’s favorite social lubricants, and at a little more than two and a half minutes long, says it all. “Colors Fade” is the closest thing to a ballad in this collection, and it’s a good one, using the analogy of fading colors to changes in a relationship. This song works on multiple levels.
“Anymore,” is another tune that examines a relationship, with biting lyrics sung by Paul, and excellent fret work by Jeff, using a pallet of effects to enhance the melody, rather than overpower it. In “Roll the Dice” he gets an organ-like sound effect, that along with his and Pete’s backing vocals, make a great counter point to Paul’s muscular phrasing.
Some raw blues licks kick off “Black Cat Blues,” with this song replacing a cat for the veritable Hellhound on the singer’s trail. The lyrics delve deep into the seemingly endless problems portrayed, convincingly I might add, by Paul, with some inspired phrasing by another Jeff, last name Beck, towards the end. “Going Down” is the last, and only non-original tune here, and it’s a fitting ending to a person and a band that deserved better. Unfortunately life is not always fair and I take solace in the fact that I watched Jeff and the band grow and improve with each release.
Don’t miss the CD release party and final performance of the band, with Jeff’s son Chris stepping in to honor his dad and his legacy. It will be held on November 29th at 7pm at the Chubby pickle.