Ronan O'BrienThe rarity of 21st century doo-wop returns in a second release from Staten Island’s The Sha La Das. Continuing to etch their legacy into the modern music scene, Bill Schalda and his sons are back with more of the same soft, soulful sounds.
Schalda & Sons
A bit of history and fateful encounters created The Sha La Das. Producer Tom Brenneck met Will Schalda as part of the late Charles Bradley‘s live band, The Extraordinaires. Following the natural demise of the group, Tom was introduced to Will’s father, Bill. A retired securities lawyer, Bill had a very early but unsuccessful career as a doo-wop singer during his teenage years. The dream to create an album never died, and Brenneck was awestruck by his voice, calling him “the real deal”.
With the aid of his talented sons; Will, Carmine and Paul, the dream finally came to fruition for Bill. The Sha La Das released their debut album, Love in the Wind in 2018. Consisting of rich doo-wop harmonies and melancholic love stories, the album is a fantastic example of music having no expiry date. With Bill now being 79, it certainly seemed like a one-off. But the urge to keep creating gnawed at the Schaldas, and the follow-up Your Picture came earlier this year.
Remember The Days
A popping bass line with some shuffling drums open the album on “Young Love And Laughter“. From the offset, the album looks and sounds like a golden oldie. Most notably the album cover, which depicts the maternal Linda Schalda on her honeymoon with Bill. The sepia tones and chill summertime setting encompass the spirit of The Sha La Das and became the inspiration for the opener. With backing vocals from the younger Schaldas, the lyrics reminisce on the youth and early love felt by Bill upon redisocvering the photograph that became the album cover art.
The band explore love in even tougher times, especially on “Stop Using My Love“. With much snappier percussion, it echoes a warning to the vocalist’s lover. Some nice twinkly instrumentals are introduced midway and the vocals skip through a funk-laden transition.
The twinkly keys, tropical percussion and groovy bass of “If You Want You Can Be My Girl“ almost serve as a time capsule to the sixties. While almost 80, Bill sounds youthful here. In a way, he sounds like he’s serenading his wife again and it’s blissfully sweet. It’s simple yet effective, what’s not to like?
The wonder of young love is revitalised again in “Do You Remember When“, which is another simplistic approach to the same message. The guitar tone here is wondrous, as are the backing vocals from the boys. I must add that the vocal strain on Bill begins to arise from this point of the album, which does take me out a bit. Nonetheless, it’s still a sweet little ditty and the shrill of his closing note diminishes any critiques of age.
Just A Distant Memory
The title track opens with an off-key note that sets a poor first impression. Which is a shame, as the lyrics are something beautifully noteworthy. Recalling bad weather forcing Bill to clean, he notes the intense feelings of carefree love upon rediscovering the aforementioned picture on his honeymoon. The instrumentals are soft and smooth, and that nice guitar tone trickles away in the background. While a beautiful message, the vocal execution is off in many ways.
Similarly, “Catch You On The Rebound“ just lacks that something for me. The opening notes are uncomfortably shrill and the vocals are underwhelming given the sparse instrumentation. When the instrumentals pick up, it becomes slightly more palatable, but the overall “road not taken” message doesn’t quite hit. The backing harmonies are blissful however, and that is a consistent theme throughout the album.
“Some Kind of Magic“ goes in a slightly different direction, which is quite welcome. For an active listener, the humdrum of the doo-wop tones might meld into an indistinguishable sound and any deviation is a nice reset. While more instrumental heavy and upbeat, it still lacks something. The vocal rise in intensity throughout the choruses are executed well, but the slightly off-key flute puts a stain on it completely.
The vocal performances are reignited to better quality on “In My Dreams“. Bill’s falsettos throughout are ethereal and his sons support in a lower register which creates a beautiful sound. A perfect doo-wop track, it’s filled with sweetness throughout. The Sha La Das strike a match to ignite the fires of love here and I fall for it endlessly.
Take Me On Your Ride
“Magic Mary“ is a huge deviation in style and it’s so enjoyable. The vocals and little guitar snippets hit such a sweet spot here and the band proves there’s more to sixties music than just lovey-dovey nonsense. Lyrically it can’t be ignored for its drug euphemisms and the delivery is excellent all round. The falsetto style is absent in the main vocal lines, with the backing vocalists just echoing and harmonising in parts. The guitar even transitions to a marching style reminiscent of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Continuing with this rock’n’roll sound, “Made Me Change My Mind“ has that nice straight edge to it. Short and simplistic, it’s crammed full of lovely instrumentals like the washing drums, strong acoustic guitar and plenty of sliding piano keys. Lyrically it’s another ode to Linda, without whom the band would have never existed.
Returning to smooth soulful sounds on “Six Eighths Of Your Time“, the band are much more rounded. The instrumentals work in dissonance in a way that somehow works. The flute and electric guitar play in opposite pockets, with each as smooth as the other. Hand percussion and repetitive vocals act as the anchor to the song, but those glistening instrumentals are certainly the star act for me.
The album closes with the slightly unsettling “Gonna Catch You“. While a sonic sphere of instrumentals, the macabre repetition of “Catch you on the rebound” serve as Bill’s goodbye. With the boys showcasing their instrumental abilities, Bill’s message is what sticks with me. Perhaps he knows there may never be a follow-up due to his age, and he includes a sixties-themed goodbye, just in case.
Final Thoughts
This is not a perfect album by any means. While I can talk about the instrumental dissonance and vocal faults heard at points in the album, I’d like to save my critique to reflect on the positives of this album.
What I have enjoyed thoroughly while listening to The Sha La Das is that music has no expiry date. While genres evolve and change over time, there is something so beautiful about listening to sounds from the past being reimagined today with no frills. This album is not something I will be revisiting in a hurry, but it will be one of the first I recommend to play at an intimate, candlelit dinner.
All critiques aside, the most touching part about this album is that it’s a family story. Bill got his dream of having a music career, with no better bandmates than his three sons. And of course, special recognition has to be given to Linda. What better way to honour her impact than dedicate songs and the album itself to her? For that, I think this is a beautiful story.
