For years, Racer and I have waxed on (and off) about the splendors of music in a live setting. After all, the live setting is the most natural way to catch a musician bearing his or her soul. On a good night, that soul will be felt with the heat of a thousand suns and will have a lingering affect on how you listen to music for years to come. Capturing these momentous occasions can be like capturing the proverbial lightening in a bottle. Musicians have their off nights. They’re bound to err a time or two in their performances, and you know what? That’s okay too. Just don’t release those performances to the unsuspecting fans! For me, a live release needs to show the artist not just playing the songs that I expect to hear, but to perform them with a different nuance than that which was recorded in the studio. I want to hear the voice quiver a little, but not completely break down to the point of shit. I want to hear a different drum fill or a change up in the intro to my favorite jam. Speaking of jam, I’m not opposed to an extended jam in the middle of a tune that turns into a medley of classic rock tunes. Basically, give me the structure of the songs that I know and love and add some flavor to them. A little nuance. Some people might even call it soul. About a year ago, I wrote about a singer/songwriter named Ernie Halter who blew me away with his album Starting Over, and now comes the opportunity to share with y’all a bit about his latest release simply entitled Ernie Halter Live. This release is a collection of tracks recorded here and there, a café one night, a small club the next, and all pieced together to display Ernie’s delectable talents in a nice sonic collage. Ernie Halter has one of the most soulful voices around and he marries that soul with a fairly stripped down musical unit. The focus in this recording is all about that voice, filled with spirit, and wrapped in melody. For the most part, the instruments backing him up provide a launching pad for the vocals to rocket to the stratosphere. These recording have a laid back feel to them, and that works well with the overall moods of the songs. The music has an R&B feeling to it; a bit of a groove without getting completely funky.
“Something’s Come Over Me” is as stripped down as Ernie Halter gets. With a simple acoustic guitar for accompaniment, Ernie reaches into that special place to belt out the sexually charged vocals. Throwing in quick lyrical innuendo, Ernie gets the girlies in the audience to hoist their drinks in salute as they cheer him on while the guys smirk and simply nod their heads in approval. He paints a great emotional picture of want for that special lady . . . voice quivering at those oh-so-perfect moments, strong and commanding in the very next phrase. This performance shows a man in need of getting some and in a bad way. And things don’t get much better for our hero as “Blue Dress” grooves its way through Funky Town. Big blasts of funked out low end burst from the speakers, all the while Ernie is going crazy with passion over that girl with the blue dress on. As he so eloquently portrayed on the studio version of the tune from Starting Over, that girl in the blue dress is rockin’ and with the soul that he injects into the vocal performance, it’s not hard to imagine the perfect curves of the woman’s body highlighted by the cut of that dress. A light sheen of sweat on her sun tanned skin as she softly gyrates to the rhythm of the music. High heels to accentuate the legs. “Blue Dress” is a flat out sexy song and Ernie does a fantastic job of translating the original fantasy to a live setting. Many kudos for that performance!“Yes I Am” is a steamin’ tune with tons of groove and swagger. Piano driven, the tune just pushes forward all while Ernie delivers an impassioned performance. The song has a gospel feel to it with the female backup vocals chiming in at the chorus. But what really sets this song on the mantle place is the piano solo . . . so full of jazzy charm and flavor. It’s the kind of groove that will get the body swaying in time with the rhythms and have the head shaking from side to side. The bass punches out the groove while the guitar solos away, and all to the delight of a boisterous crowd. Man . . . feel the soul craft on this one!
The inspirational and uplifting “Lighthouse” and strength from within balladry of “Love in L.A.” are a couple more highlights from the album. Much like the rest of the disc, it features Ernie’s poignant lyrics and smoother than single malt whiskey voice. There’s not much variation in the songs, but that’s okay. It’s Ernie’s style. He’s not gonna’ rock your socks off like some gutter rocker. In the vein of the modern singer / songwriter, Ernie Halter utilizes his natural talents with his voice and his pen. He writes the songs from a place within, and possibly without, and then conveys the emotions in an exceptional manner. What you get with the live rendition of the man is very similar to his studio effort, but it’s a touch more raw. More like an exposed nerve begging to not be touched, yet inevitably bumped by all those around. What Ernie brings to the genre that artists like Jack Johnson or Ryan Adams is a steamy sexual undertone that has an air of danger to it, almost like a hip-hop attitude to the singer / songwriter game. It works. It’s a unique and interesting approach to a genre that can get weighed down by its own super sensitivity and become, at times, too safe. Ernie Halter is a breath of fresh air. - Pope JTE
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