Ark of Music regular David Zee, often utilizing the Zanilonia moniker, has been making original music since the late 1990s. Upon creating and releasing music during those embryonic years, he discovered the name “David Zee,” in various configurations, was quite popular. To dismantle any continuing confusion, and to revisit, upgrade, and re-release one of his earliest collections – a rock-focused work that received considerable local radio airplay – David Zee added his middle name (Anthony), and released a remastered, re-monikered version of his classic album, Can’t Sit Still.
Can the eclectic, electric David Anthony Zee truly rock out? Let’s hit the highlights.
Wait. Who does what?
DAZ (David Anthony Zee): Piano, various keys, lead vocals.
Ralph Tucker: Drums and percussion (played with Dizzy Gillespie and also the Stan Kenton Big Band).
David E. Smith: Sax (played with Ethel Ennis and Jimmy McGriff.
John Grant: Owner and recording engineer at Secret Sound, also appearing on electric guitar.
Guest Artist Ken Fradley: Trumpet (toured with Buster Poindexter).
Guest Vocalists: Michael Shacoshis, David E. Smith, and Maureen Jackson.
What we’re really digging (i.e., those aforementioned highlights):
Can’t Sit Still kicks off with “Absolutely Baby” – and it’s red-blooded American rock and roll. It’s Jerry Lee Lewis-meets-Fats Domino with recurring upper-piano plinking and a “twist and shout”-ish bass line. It’s what drove kids crazy at the soda shop, and gave parents nightmares regarding uncontrollable teens. It’s lightning in a bottle, and the kind of music that incited a domestic rebellion.
Eponymous track “Can’t Sit Still” is another mover and shaker tugging on the roots of 1950s rock and roll. With rumbling lower notes, higher register piano dashes, and that classic dance-friendly beat, “Can’t Sit Still” would positively electrify the local sock hop.
“What You Got” is a bit more reserved, but no less punchy. It’s a little more Doobie Brothers than proto-rock, with the harmonized “youuuu” and a ‘70s-era, working man melody. Great song, and my second-favorite track.
“Bonnie on a Bike” features organ and a tropical rock sway; it leans on Jimmy Buffet, if only slightly, to get across the head-bopping, beach-crawling beat. If you’re in a hammock with a rather lengthy, umbrella-garnished beverage, “Bonnie on a Bike” is an apropos soundtrack.
“By the Water” brings back that ‘50s-fueled, jumpin’, jivin’ rock and roll. If you’re currently in a slump and energy spent, a loud and persistently pumping dose of “By the Water” will immediately draw you to, and keep you permanently affixed to, the 24-hour dance floor.
Album closer, “See You Soon (for Ashley),” immediately reminds me of James Taylor. And I hear this comparison in the chosen chords, the excellent and surprising chord changes, but especially in the voice; David Zee is hitting Taylor’s cadence, his vocal character, and it makes this particular track – this sadly short, but more affecting in its brevity track – especially moving. It’s a recognition of something great, and perhaps a final goodnight to the person responsible for that unrecoverable, but appreciated, greatness. Excellent closer, and my personal favorite by a mile.
But is it good?
You’ve heard the eclectic David Zee in his robotic, experimental, and arguably unearthly form. Now, it’s time to listen to his more human counterpart – the version moved by rock and roll’s early radio revolution, and the version more vulnerable to beautiful human needs. If you want to know where David Anthony Zee came from, and where he graciously goes again, I can’t recommend Can’t Sit Still enough. Goooood stuff.
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BELOW: Listen to David Anthony Zee and check him out on Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, Amazon Music, and Apple Music. Please support David Anthony Zee by visiting his website and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing his music. And, as always, thank you for supporting real music.
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