A Review of Greg Corcione's Debut EP "Believer"

By: David Landry

Greg Corcione sure has us believin' something. 

Greg Corcione’s debut EP Believer is something I have been waiting for with a lot of anticipation. I met Greg years ago as the drummer of Fleedami, which was the experimental jazz group that played every Wednesday at The No Name, and parts of them still do. Corcione spent some time traveling, and when he got back, he told me he wanted to work on a solo project.

When my band Whiskey Autumn started working with producer Robbie Stiefel, we found out Robbie was working with Greg on his new project too. I soon learned that Greg actually came to the studio with only rough demos of all of his songs. Greg and Robbie arranged and recorded all of the instrumentation to the songs together with help from Bill Douglass on the board. With each song on Believer, Corcione shows his love for all styles of music; overall there is a major blues undertone.

Robbie Stiefel (left) and Greg Corcione (right).

Robbie Stiefel (left) and Greg Corcione (right).

Corcione comes in battling a demon with “Holy Water”. The heavy distorted guitar welcomes you to this haunting voice that is reaching out. The thunderous drums and crashing cymbals fill the empty space and bring you this dark sermon of blues, with a Morrison-like preacher confiding in a higher power for help.

When I first listened to the record, “Mother’s Poem” grabbed me before finding out the deeper meaning to this song. Greg paints this image of a rainy evening in the summer with the quiet fingerpicking guitar. The piano and the warm bass sound like the steam off the streets. And then there’s a little girl in her room alone, missing her father, wishing that he would walk up the stairs just like the night before. “Mother’s Poem” was written by Greg’s mother about her father passing away when she was only ten.

“Blame it on Love” enters with this R&B blues backbeat and guitar; a swelling organ brings in the obsessive vocal groove. The lyrics go along with the music, and it makes you want to be “standing there naked”. Corcione sings about big decisions he made while being in lust and love.

Corcione in action. 

Corcione in action. 

“Tango Women” stays with the sexiness of “Blame it on Love”, but with this great Spanish flare. The women in the song must be the only ones in color in this black and white affair. The whispering guitar fills; the rhythm is like tap shoes to the hardwood.

The EP’s closer and title track, “Believer”, brings you to the sea of the spirit, with his arms open wide singing to the heavens. Filled with claps and stomps from the congregation, and Greg’s slightly distorted voice, this one feels like it’s his last call.

Overall, Corcione’s Believer is a great debut, and I can’t wait to hear more from him.

Listen to Believer below: 

-David

All photos, videos, and embedded tracks per the artists featured and those credited. This feature was edited for brevity and clarity by BolderBeat.