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Wiser Time has been reviewed or interviewed by publications including:
Beggars And Thieves
by Pete Feenstra
Whether they take their name from the song by The Black Crowes or not, Wiser Time share the Crowes sense of American roots rock. New Jersey's Carmen Sclafani has a soulful voice that brings real expression and feel to a range of material that is as impressive in full guitar led southern rock mode as it is in an alt. Americana stripped down setting.
In many respects Wiser Time is a band out of time except of course they share some of the same musical sources with the southern rock and jam bands such as Gov't Mule and the North Mississippi Allstars. Their point of departure is that they know the value of holding back and the power of restraint and suggestion.
Nonetheless they open with excellent slide led rocker 'Love and Devotion', full of a beefy sonic qualities and clever rhyming couplets over gentle changes and slip into an Allman Brothers style 'On Our Way' before concentrating more on the essence of their songs.
So after a hell of start to an album, they head for the more subtle roots rock feel of an after hours studio session with the emphasis firmly on songs.
As frontman Carmen Sclafani explains, "We wanted to be together for the whole thing and just get into the whole vibe of it'. And the whole album does indeed sound as if they were as he suggests, 'having a great time, and trying any idea that came to mind'
But while there's a glorious raggedy feeling to the album, there's equally a sense of purpose and commitment to make the thing happen.
There's variety, spontaneity and an old fashioned sense of going for it. The band is equally impressive on the stripped down roots of 'Take Me Back Home' which is a well judged slow burner of a ballad that makes judicious use of Gary Oleyar and Bruce Jepson's fiddle and mandolin interplay. And while the track has a down-home feel it's not too far removed from the early Rod Stewart/Faces rootsy style with an edge.
The following love song 'It's Hard Letting You Go' has a well paced vocal/piano intro. The subtle slide guitar line ushers the band into a heartfelt ballad that Neil Young might have written, even if Carmen's raspy vocals are closer to Ian Parker's emotive white boy soul style than Young's drone.
At this point the album could probably have done with another full blown band effort but Carmen goes out on the limb with just voice and acoustic and he just about pulls it off with the bass drum led 'Revolution 9'. There's a lovely understated feel to the piece with Rob Clores's cool Wurlitzer and Steve Decker's telling percussive bottom end. It's the kind of song that draws the listener in and offers a glimpse a mature song writer who persuasively makes his point.
Jimmy Somma's slide then leads the band back into a Little Feat influenced 'Keep It On', on which Wiser Time dig deep for a southern gumbo feel with thoughtful lyrics from one D Schneider. This slow burner again demonstrates the band's art of letting a song breathe via a slow build up infused with real feel.
Rob Clores switches to piano on another country rocker, the self explanatory 'Whiskey & Wine', on which the band evoke both Little Feat and the 'Exile on Main Street' era Stones. There's a chooglin', southern after hours groove, plus an off the cuff rapped out narrative. The latter is a cool little vignette that you could easily have been written with Lou Reed in mind.
Sclafani and Decker round things off nicely with a duet on 'Working Man's Blues' on which the drummer switches to guitar and Carmen adds slide over some telling bv's. It works really well and precedes a cover of Bad Company's 'Seagull', complete with an unedited false start that adds to the loose feel of the album.
But there's nothing loose about Carmen's throaty vocal, as he pours himself into the song while adding mandolin as Decker fills the gaps with potent percussion.
Wiser Time is band to keep an eye on. They are bubbling under and have the songs, the feel and a sense of time and place to establish a potentially enduring niche in the making.
There And Back Again
by Rhys Williams
Wiser Time are a New York based quartet who take their name from the Black Crowes' Amorica classic. This band owes a lot more than their moniker to the Robinsons, wielding a heavy, greasy, blues-saturated rock sound much akin to the brothers Chris and Rich.
It's no small feat then that this album, 'There And Back Again', is likely to be the equivalent of 'Shake Your Moneymaker' for a new generation of blues/rock fans. The album consists of eleven hard-rocking epics that barely leave the listener time to breathe, full of dual guitar lines and swampy rock 'n' roll swagger.
The key factor that may prove invaluable in separating Wiser Time from the scores of similar bands, and propel them into the limelight, is vocalist Carmen Sclafani, who possesses the type of molasses-drenched voice that belongs in the 1970s. He is the perfect unifying voice for the band's sleazy sound, and a formidable frontman.
Even the most skeptical of critics would be hard pushed to find holes to pick at in this release, and the band moves from strength to strength, firing on all cylinders from start to close. Sure, the band wears its influences proudly on its sleeve, with the music harking back to the 1960s and 70s, but when the end result is this fresh and exciting, who cares! Rating: 4/5 STARS
The Weekender NEPA's 1 Arts Entertainment Weekly
Derivative But Delicious
by Kevin Krieger
Imitation may be the most sincere form of flattery, but for Millington, N.J., trio Wiser Time, the saying takes on a whole new meaning. The band is obviously influenced by the Black Crowes, and if they weren't so damn good, it might be fair to call them copycats and too retro — a charge that was often leveled at the Crowes in their early days.
Operating from a three-man outfit (Carmen Sclafani on vocals, guitars and harmonica; Steve Decker on drums and percussion; Jon Cornell on bass), the band captures a stripped-down sound that fires on all cylinders. The songwriting is solid and — dare I say it? — some of their material is as good as the Black Crowes.
If you scrape some of the grit from Chris Robinson's voice and knock Rich Robinson's amps back a notch, you'd be sitting squarely in Wiser Time territory. For its sophomore release, titled "All For One," the band settles into a bluesy groove punctuated by old-school classic rock riffs.
Frontman Sclafani is an excellent guitarist and perhaps an even better vocalist, but it's the songs that shine on "All For One." "Hammer Down," "Even" and "Crawling Floor" all take their cues from the soulful swagger of bands like the Rolling Stones, Free and early Led Zeppelin. In a welcome change of pace, the acoustic "A Long Time Gone" breaks out the 12-string guitars and mandolins for an emotional ballad that gives the CD the right amount of balance.
The album rolls to a close with the slow blues of "Blame It All On Me," but not before the raw slide guitar on "Floating Blues" rips things up one more time. Although the CD clocks in at just 36 minutes, not a single note is wasted.
It would be easy to write off Wiser Time as a retread of old Humble Pie and Faces riffs, but the original material actually plays well against the big boys. Bottom line is that if you have even a mild attraction to the first Black Crowes album ("Shake Your Moneymaker") "All For One" from Wiser Time — itself a Black Crowes song title — will not disappoint. Rating: W W W
Classic Rock Magazine
September 2008: The Real 100 Greatest Rock Songs
Wiser Time - All For One
Blues Rock That's Not Too Hard To Handle.
By Jerry Ewing
It can be no small coincidence that this New Jersey mob take their name from a Black Crowes song. For the influence of Chris Robinson and co. is writ large all over Wiser Time's second album. Early Black Crowes, mind, none of the drugged-up, jammed out noodling of later years. And operating in a classic rock trio format, Wiser Time are a bit more rock than the Otis Redding-inspired soul that we got from Shake Your Money Maker. It's fluidly enjoyable stuff, with the likes of Even, Hammer Down and Blame It All On Me rocking hard, whilst the loose-limbed groove of A Long Time Gone echoes Brit rock soulsters Free. Still, there's certainly no denying the uncanny similarities between Carmen Sclafani and Chris Robinson's vocals. 7 of 10
ROCKTIMES Magazine (Germany) - Interview
CLICK HERE to read the interview
Riseing Stars Channel: Wiser Time
Mike Butler
