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Carolyne Mas: Press

Billboard (3-8-80) full article

CAROLYNE MAS
Marvin Center,
George Washington Univ.
Washington, D.C.
Admission: Free

"Mas is the rock world's best kept secret. Onstage, she is as explosive as a 20 megaton bomb, with a voice that can send shivers running through your body.

Her 90-minute, 15-song set, including three encores, mostly featured tunes from her debut Mercury album along with new ones that will appear on her forthcoming followup.

With her passionate rock'n'roll dynamics and unrelentless energy, Mas is often compared to Bruce Springsteen. Like Springsteen, the saxophone plays and integral part in her band's sound. While Crispin Cioe's reed work may not come off as intensely as Clarence Clemmons', he is a prime reason for the success of her music.

Mas' 'Stillsane,' with its immediately identifiable sax intro, remains one of the great unheralded records of 1979. Other tunes that put Mas' talents in perspective incude 'Quote Goodbye Quote,' 'Snow' (a delicate ballad in which Mas makes her voice quiver the way Joan Armatrading does) and 'Sadie Says.'

Equally impressive were new songs such as 'Go Ahead And Cry' (with Mas moving from guitar to piano), 'Runnin' From The High Life' and 'I Cannot Take It Away.'

The biggest surprise was a much rockier version of the Grass Roots' 'Midnight Confession,' with a sterling arrangement powerful enough to make it a hit again.

Backing Mas' guitar work was her band of excellent musicians including David Landau on guitar, Ivan Elias on bass, Bobby Chouinard on drums, Charlie Giordano on piano and Cioe on sax.

Mas' album unfortunately really didn't convey what she is capable of doing live. Hopefully, her new LP will capture the electrifying rock she delivers onstage. The lady to be a star."
Ed Harrison - BILLBOARD (3-8-80)