Glow

Seventeen years in the making Glow sounds as if it had been recorded over one luxurious six month session. Glam-rock producer Tony Visconti co-writes and produces many tracks (along with several other producers) and the result is a firm and consistent piece of processed pop. Barone, who got his start with Hoboken’s NJ’s Bongos, is all slicked up, more in line with a modern day Paul McCartney album than T. Rex, whose “Girl” receives an infectious cover here. Barone sings with the purebred and heartfelt pop vocal instincts of Sir Paul (and still bears a physical resemblance as well) as the pristine and starry lines of “Silence Is Our Song” and “Sanctified” make clear. “Yet Another Midnight” and “Glow Symphony” capture a modern-day psychedelia with intense satisfaction. Barone has spent much of the past decade and a half producing others and writing for the theater. His solo career has been an intriguing mix of chamber pop and enlightened songwriting that retains its pop flavor even when it flirts with the seriousness of a mature singer-songwriter.