TT - Man On The Corner (2025)

Traversing a genre of music that has been chipped away over the decades, TT brings his enthusiasm to his detailed lyrics & tight playing. It’s almost as if he bent progressive rock’s bombastic intensity into a workable pop confection that makes the showcase memorable as it chugs along on a well-greased track.

It’s a debut LP that features 9 powerful pieces written, produced & performed by TT for Man On the Corner recorded in Los Angeles. The first two songs are fine, but the slower “Heal My Mind” is most impressive with its haunting arrangement. The album’s topicality traces refuge, resilience, redemption & an opportunity to turn life’s challenges into something beautiful & empowering. Heavy stuff.

TT’s music encompasses a wide mix of country, classical with R&R. It contributes to a genre-bending record. Though it isn’t spacey, it has reminiscing moments from Tony Carey’s Planet P Project (“Pink World”). That was an ambitious set. It drew on many sources to realize Carey’s musical impressions. Some songs come off as silly but catchy in that 60s pop-infectious way. “My Kinda Cowgirl,” is a locomotive-driven tune that’s well sung & performed. The songs are based on good storytelling & few of them are rooted in cliché. There’s nothing new here. However, TT tries his best to present his music with atmosphere, mood, experiences & struggles with relatable issues. The words “Man on the Corner,” emerge in “Old Glory” — a nice rock piece that’s part Neil Young, part Bruce Springsteen held together with a strong Woody Guthrie thread.

“Ghost In Your Shoes,” is another enthusiastic piece that touches on afflictions, addiction & difficulties. The songs could sound overdone in spots but I guess that kind of forward march is necessary to immerse the tune in its push to get people to listen as hard as possible. Good arrangement, fiery guitar & unified vocals. Some tunes are puff pieces that will get listeners to embrace the song & get others to dismiss them.

But the music alone by TT is still viable. The arrangements are colorful, good singing & it’s all captured with zest.