Vessels
Big Sun, 2021
9/10
Making an album during the pandemic was no easy task, but veteran musician Joe Tullos also did it when he was battling cancer, which he would succumb to in November 2020. His final wish was to have this body of work finished, and his friend and producer Michael Paz helps document this swan song from one of the most interesting humans who has ever lived.
“And Anna So Blew” starts the listen with a breezy and even mysterious backdrop of varied sounds that span rock, pop and even prog, and “Amazing Me” follows with warm keys and Tullos’ comforting pipes working together amid much calm melody.
Approaching the middle, “I Seen It Coming Down” recruits fiddle and some Cajun nods to the rootsy climate, while “Lilly” brings a soulful quality to the poetic delivery. “Only Love”, one of the album’s best, then displays Tullos’ soaring vocals alongside a punchy and rhythmic display of fuller, folk friendly sounds.
“Flash Of Darkness” arrives near the end, and mixes graceful piano with a unique brand of Americana, and “Next Town” exits the listen in piano balladry, where eloquent music and brilliant lyricism point towards a sage like presence.
The cover photo is the actual sphere that Tullos had his ashes put into, and that were placed in the ocean off of North Carolina and swept into the Gulf of Mexico. Tullos chose to record music rather than go through the rigmarole of treatment, and along with his bandmates in his previous band, Big Sun, he leaves us with full rockers, sublime intimacy and, of course, his inimitable and profound storytelling that illustrates a life very well lived and one that will never be forgotten.
Travels well with: Rick Holmstrom- See The Light; Claire Kelly- The Scenic Route