Greg Lato makes a musical mess on Monday Morning Breakdown

02/04/09 - I like to think that I am into all types of music. Country, rock, rap, ukulele, all of it-you name the genre, and I probably have at least one song in that genre on my computer. I like Ben Folds Five. I really enjoy Daniel Powter, and at one point in my life I was a huge boy band fanatic. I even enjoy his music from the 70's, 80's, 90's, and now. But I really don't like a mix of all of these on one CD, and that is exactly what Providence bred, Greg Lato's, latest CD "Monday Morning Breakdown" came out as - a mix-tape massacre.When I first listened to "Monday Morning Breakdown," I knew that if I was going to like the CD I would have to give it several chances. I thought that I could enjoy the first track "Marquee" with time, but after two days of testing out the CD, I found this song to really irritate me. It begins bluesy and then moves on to giving an ode to a girl. The music thrashes a bit, and the drum bass comes through clearly against Lato's voice (which seems to have special effects added to it for each verse). The song reminds me a lot of the songs of the fake boy band 2Gether that once existed, but weaker-and 2Gether was a fake group. It is almost as if even on the first song, Lato is trying to be a one man boy band with his own mixed vocals on the beat.

I tried to give track two a shot as well. This time, Lato's sound reminded me of Daniel Powter. Some of the falsettos come off strong but are followed up by vocals that seem to have no depth at all. The best lyric on the track compares him and the girl to a chemical reaction. I will give an A for originality on the lyric choice, but C- on the choice of topic: going for the girl as usual.

Moving on to track three, "Monday Morning Breakdown," I found Lato going for an early Ben Folds sound. The piano/keyboard sound starts in the back, and Lato's voice is clear as day. This song turns out to be the best themed song, at least in my opinion, as people can relate to the idea of hating Mondays and working for the weekend, but that is about all the song has going for it.

Track four, "Contradiction," is another throwback to songs by 2Gether. Here, the voice more closely reminds me of Jerry from the group that MTV put together in order to make fun of boy groups like Backstreet Boys and 98 Degrees. "Contradiction" is another love-themed song, however in this song Lato questions why this girl would ever fall for him, and tells her that he is a "contradiction to himself." He is telling her there is a shot that it could get better, but that if she still wants him, they both must need professional help. The song is a mess, and the best lyric that Lato can come up with on it is, "There is a soundtrack to my life,"-not very original.

The rest of the CD is weak as well as the remainder of the songs focus on romance and the girl he really wants. In one of the tracks he seems to be comparing love to a drug. "gives me a rush.the good stuff."

Lato describes his CD on his Myspace page as he lists the numerous people who helped him work on it including the All-American Rejects' record label Mission Sound, musician Nir Z who has worked with John Mayer, musician Billy Jay Stein who has worked with Gavin DeGraw, and a laundry list of more musicians.

Maybe Lato should have stuck to one, instead of mapping his album out with musicians from genres all over the board. Lato's Myspace page describes the album as a "unique style of pop music hybrid of vast musical influences, which range from late 70s/early 80s to modern pop." I just call it a unique mess.