Rosie Vela - Zazu (1986)

Rosie Vela became a big name fashion model in the late '70s.

As the money rolled in from her modeling career, Vela was honing her musical craft. Vela was a huge fan of Steely Dan, and it shows. She was able to secure Dan producer Gary Katz for "Zazu", which in turn led to Walter Becker and Donald Fagen themselves playing on the album. "Zazu" was originally released in 1986. At the time, Becker and Fagen being back together in the studio got some people's hopes up that the officially disbanded Steely Dan might decide to reunite, but that shouldn't overshadow the fact that "Zazu" is a brilliant album, and more than anyone else, the credit goes to Vela, who wrote 8 of the 9 tracks on the album herself.

In a sense, this album is the very definition of cool. Gary Katz did an excellent job producing–synthesizers and electronic drums are heavily used, but everything is held in check, giving the songs plenty of room to 'breathe'. Like Steely Dan, Vela demonstrates an uncanny knack for sophisticated song structures and sly hooks. Rosie puts her own stamp on the proceedings with her terrific vocals which meld beautifully with the songs–look at the smile-inducing, off-hand sensuality she brings to "Magic Smile"; or how she handles the gorgeous, winding melody of the confessional, yearning mid-tempo ballad "Interlude". Lyrically, she mostly deals with romantic themes, but her lyrics are far from generic; sometimes the imagery she creates is downright wacky, but engagingly so, as on "Boxs" [sic].

In short, this is a terrific album that any serious music fan will want to listen to repeatedly–it's a must-have. It's no wonder that Jeff Lynne secured Rosie to sing backup on his short-lived ELO reunion tour. I'd love to hear more of Rosie's great vocals and songwriting–it really is a shame that the material Vela recorded for an intended second album remains unreleased all these years later.

Track List :

• 1 - Fool's Paradise
• 2 - Magic Smile
• 3 - Interlude
• 4 - Tonto
• 5 - Sunday
• 6 - Taxi
• 7 - 2nd Emotion
• 8 - Boxs
• 9 - Zazu

Musicians :

• Walter Becker - Guitars, Keyboards
• Donald Fagen - Keyboards
• Michael Been - Guitars
• Jimmy Bralower - Drums, Percussions
• Rick Derringer - Guitars
• Larry Fast - Keyboards
• Yogi Horton - Drums
• Jim Keltner - Drums
• Jimmy Haslip - Bass
• Tony Levin - Bass
• Neil Stubenhaus - Bass
• Aaron Zigman - Keyboards

Links :

Enjoy !