SIMEON FLICK: Bespoke

Simeon Fick is a San Diego-based musician, singer, and guitarist of many talents. He is an exceptional classical guitarist. One of the best classical recordings I’ve heard in the last several years is Flick’s transcriptions for guitar of Scarlatti. Flick’s guitar brought new life to the 18^th-century composer’s compositions.

Flick also performs and records popular music. He’s pretty darned good at that, too. His latest CD, Bespoke, is a collection of ten tunes that occupy a number of pop realms. “Brotherman,” “Committed,” and “Gravity” are squarely within the realm of latter-day progressive rock, the kind of sound that has Neil Peart-style drums at its core but isn’t going to ruin the vibe with strange chord changes and odd time signatures. Hip hop is the overriding influence of “Sadman,” although to confine this number to that or any other genre would be an injustice.

There is nothing contrived in the tunes on Bespoke; it is not as though Flick was thinking “I need some Neil Peart drums over here and a Primus guitar over there.” Listening to the CD as a whole, I’m rather left with the impression that Flick is a musical omnivore, eagerly absorbing pop styles and trends of the last 50 years and letting them organically spring forth as he composes.

I could be all wrong about what I just said. But it’s no matter. The tunes are all solid, and they are all big. Even the tunes besides the latter-day prog songs are big. They are turn-up-the-CD-player big. They are arena-rock big. These Bespoke compositions are the kind of big you get when the Highwatts and Marshalls are channeling the great gods of rock and metal. They are shake-the-walls-and-foundations-of-the-building big. These songs are big enough for the whole neighborhood. Why stop there? If Starship built their city on rock and roll, Simeon Flick can build metropolis after metropolis of his own with Bespoke.

The terrific drumming and over the top guitar work—that and all the other instruments (save for an upright bass performed by Mike Berkowitz on “When the Power Goes Out”) were performed by Simeon Flick. All the recording was done at Blue Chair Studio out in La Mesa. Bespoke is a testament to a musician at the height of his powers and is certain to be a favorite for many Simeon Flick fans.