Singer-songwriter Vincent Covello certainly knows his stuff. I quote from one of his promotional sites: “…(Covello) works with companies including Nickelodeon, Disney, MTV, Hasbro Entertainment, The Jim Henson Company, Sony and all major record labels, top level music producers and music management companies, including Red Light Management, major recording sessions, and with Billboard chart topping songwriters.” This also includes references to his stints working with the Emmy Award-nominated Nickelodeon show Victorious, specifically as a vocal coach for Victoria Justice.
WEBSITE: vincentcovellomusic.com/
Among the other countless names Mr. Covello has collaborated with is the incomparable Kenny Ortega, specifically on Fox’s Rocky Horror Picture Show featuring the likes of Justice, Laverne Cox, and Reeve Carney. But just because one understands how to calibrate a great artist, does not a great artist one make. So I was impressed by the inherent vulnerability in Mr. Covello realizing his own work, specifically the release of his adult pop album Torchlights. In a press release, Covello described his work as “romantic, inspiring, loving, emotional, uplifting, joyful, and sentimental.” While I’m not sure I would one hundred percent agree, there is one thing for sure – it’s assured, mature, and extremely interesting to set as a precedent.
Torchlights feels like the prologue to what could be an eclectic and slightly offbeat musical career. It plays it a bit safe in terms of danger, which to me is always mandatory to have in a second offering. Torchlights delivers the good, but it isn’t quite there in terms of solidifying Mr. Covello’s three hundred and sixty degree musical image and identity. This is by no means a bad thing. If what Covello has already produced is any indication, he’s well on his way to a place where the only path forward is up. But I would have liked that sense of danger better, and I look forward to the days when he can call back to mind the rougher context indicative of his musical performance with BT on Loving You More in 1995.
Torchlights
Listen to Torchlights on Spotify · Album · Vincent Covello · 2024 · 10 songs
Nevertheless, Torchlights is a soulful, resonant record that actually showcases talent and not just catchy hooks and electronic vocal manipulations. Its most affecting tracks include Cry’n Eyes, Here Then Gone, and Time Plays Us All. Covello’s assuredness as a performer is likely due to his extensive track record. But it has to be more than that too. There must be a genuine spark of inspiration in Covello. He won’t be one of those one-time acts, or one-time hits. A producer who thinks he himself can produce material.
Torchlights is the work of a genuine artist, someone who sees things and understands how to use the medium of popular music to communicate those insights. It’s not an easy thing to do, and as a fellow artist myself (not in music) sometimes I wonder if it is something that has to be an inherent gift. Hard work can produce inspiring material, but actual inspiration feels innate and very personalized. Covello has that inspiration, and if he continues I will be the first in line to see where it heads next. In the meantime, I recommend Torchlights with a full four stars out of five.
Clay Burton