Music Review: Blaine Alden Krauss Wants To Know HOW COME U DON'T CALL ME ANYMORE

Heigh Ho, dear lovely rainbow tribe, welcome back to Bobby's CD sandbox where we offer our broken-down breakdowns of new music releases. So, strap in and get ready, as Bobby goes on the record ABOUT the record.

This week's album entry in the BobbyFiles is actually another quick look at a quick single from a BroadwayWorld fave, Blaine Alden Krauss (HAMILTON-Tour, KINKY BOOTS) who has taken on Prince's HOW COME U DON'T CALL ME ANYMORE. If there is any vocalist working today that could adopt a song by The High Priest Of Pop, it is this young man. Krauss has been wowing audiences on our Cabaret stages for a while now, as well as out on the road with HAMILTON, and on The Broadway in KINKY BOOTS and NATASHA PIERRE. This rainbow writer feels certain that a star spot in a new production is just around the corner for Blaine, as he has more than enough talent to earn it, live it, and be a star, and since BAK has also made inroads in the recording industry with his uber-danceable hit single HAUS OF LOVE, stardom is what we wish for this out and proud LGBTQIA performer.

Performance-wise Krauss's voice trills so high ... because he can and he goes everywhere The Purple One did, originally, singing in the same key and principally with the same arrangement. What BAK does is make his recording the best of covers by making it an homage to a great artist. Where the Prince Of Funk gives stirring sharp-pointed rock & roll screams, Krauss's full, rich, round falsetto going so high with such ease amazes our ears, as we wonder how a human can play his voice like a musical instrument. We never got to experience Prince live, but we have heard Blaine Alden Krauss sing this one at 54 Below, and we feel certain His Royal Badness would not only be pleased but would offer BAK a Rock & Roll Knighthood.

Krauss's performance is heavy on the sexy blues overtones and we LOVE that. He uses every note and vocalese in his considerable arsenal, especially those money notes in upper registers, which are worth a million bucks. When he drops to his baritone range - the power shook our headphones and made us think, "Well, Damn!" His clarity with Prince's sweet, bluesy lyrics brings the longing for the absent lover to life, along with those superior vocals. The story is an old and simple one - A forlorn young man waiting by the phone for that man/woman/they/them to call - You know my dearlings... THE BLUES! Though Blaine does maintain the integrity of Prince's lyrics by the use of the word Mama in the final strains, he has never had any compunction about his gayness, and, so, we all know, in our hearts, he is waiting on a call from "That Man," so we let the Mama stand.

The great thing about this R&B standard is that Krauss banishes the blues with it. His singing is one of a kind, just as Prince's was one of a kind. There is nothing for it, now, but for Little Bobby to give this fab single by Blaine Alden Krauss...

5 Out Of 5 Rainbows - Put this one in your Spotifies: HERE

Or Give It A Listen On The Amazons: HERE

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