And by night, a singer ...

by Jim Trageser
This review first appeared in the January 3, 2008 issue of the North County Times.

The postmaster of the Vista post office, Gary Spizzirri recently also released an album of pop standards. Covering a broad swath of the pop canon, Spizzirri sings in front of a big band ("Beyond the Sea," "Under My Skin"), a small jazz combo with strings ("You Don't Know Me") and a standard rock band ("Before You Accuse Me"). The arrangements are solid, echoing a sort of Jack Jones / Barry Manilow vibe, and Spizzirri has a pleasant singing voice, with a nice sense of presence and splendid timing. The album suffers a bit from a heavy-handed echo effect on Spizzirri's vocals that gives it a weird '80s sound. Overall, though, a nice surprise, and an album one hopes is followed up with a more active performance schedule in 2008.