doing myself with chocolates and flowers and strawberry flavored lubricant

Without a doubt, in the recent years, the whole singer/songwriter genre has snatched the attention of major label A&R scouts as the genre itself becomes more and more marketable. So, what we get now is a bunch of sissies who write extremely simplistic songs who can only play the same few chords on their acoustic guitars. I know a fraud when I see one!!! Well, among the million of singer/songwriters out there, Richard Cortez caught my attention. For one, his lyrics are honest, his expressions are sincere, and the music feels genuine. For another, Craving Something Beautiful features ten wonderful tracks dealing with same-sex relationships, the consequences of meaningless and meaningful sex, and American politics. One of the highlight tracks for me is the amusing live recording of "Asshole": "And I guess in the bed department, it makes you a ten, because you make me go ‘ooo, oh, oh’ over and over again, it's like Ron Jeremy meets a Calvin Klien ad and then there's a little bit of Sid Vicious in there because you're always biting me by the end." On the contrary, the title track, "Craving Something Beautiful" is more or less a song about a one night stand that features a very heartfelt chorus of "…you don't have to explain it, put your clothes back on, I'll look the other way, I'm not gonna beg you for more... I'm not gonna ask you to stay... but next time you're craving something beautiful, and you're humming one of my old tunes, know I was more than willing to love you..." Essentially, Richard Cortez sings and plays beautiful music, whether you can relate to his subject matter or not. Craving Something Beautiful is a very amateur sounding record; however, the album is close to perfect for me. Richard Cortez is a young and extremely talented individual; and I am certain he will only improve and progress in his future releases. You can download a bunch of older bootlegs from Cortez’s label Wollenberg Records. My personal favouites among those tracks are "Boyfriend-to-Be" and "The Time It Takes to Love". (awesome ending!) So, check those bootlegs out... and oh, if you don't already get it, I highly recommend Craving Something Beautiful!

from Craving Something Beautiful
Craving Something Beautiful [wicked-cool song]
Asshole [wicked-cool song]
Of Thee I Sing
Big Brown Overcoat
Implode
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from bootlegs:
Boyfriend-to-Be
The Time It Takes to Love

buy Craving Something Beautiful here