Add textA solo effort from Vito featuring 14 original compositions.

I had the pleasure of co-producing this brilliant “comeback” (of sorts) record, featuring the return of NRBQ’s former front man, Mr. Frank Gadler. Produced along with Willi Amrod, Dan Sheehan, and Frank himself, this record rocks. It also uses the "Outta Town Horns" and it’s full of high energy. It includes songs written by "Big Al" Anderson, Steve Ferguson, and Terry Adams, all NRBQ Alums, as well as the title track "Cause Of You" which was written by Frank Gadler and Vito Petroccitto. I grew up on Frankie's voice in the early NRBQ days, thanks to Willi Amrod, I was strategically placed right on the ground floor of this dream (to me) project!

This record is another incredible piece of work. Singer-Songwriter Stan Beinstein delivers some super rich performances here with songs that could only be written by a man who's "been around the block,” as they say. Songs of a most humorous nature intertwined with some of the most profound. Co-produced with Stan himself, and great friends Jim Gleason (Johnson Bros., Nashville, and yours truly once again.

CD Review: Holland, Thompson, & Tooch 

Last Updated: 08/07/2013 7:50 pm

Before getting to all the good things to be heard on this frequently stunning debut, there are two things that tweak me: First, I wish the respected Hudson Valley trio would let its collective hair down and stray beyond the quiet folk/country margin. You can sense they want to swing but often hold themselves in check. Tweak number two: As accomplished as all three are at the craft of songwriting, you can sometimes feel the craft (i.e., the construction), and not the song (the feeling), at play.
With that said, singer-guitarist LuAnne Thompson’s countrified “Cabin on the Hill” is a resonant, meditative plea and the best song on this collection. I doubt if anyone is better at making the kind of simple yet eloquent life statements that multi-instrumentalist John Martucci does with the folk-jazzy “Gratitude” and the sing-along, feel-good closer “Keep on Chippin’.” Keyboardist-flutist Melissa Holland shakes the folk foundations with the spirited, finger-snapping, three-part a capella “Troubadour” and the playfully martial “Barbie 2000” (“Bulimic Barbie, press her tummy ‘Urp’ regurgitation”).
Though a few more instrumental dashes here and there wouldn’t have hurt, Vito Petroccitto’s clear, sparse production serves all 13 selections well, allowing each member a spotlight and the trio as a unit a chance to shine.