Music Review: ‘The Vinnie Paolizzi LP’
The Nashville-via-Pennsylvania country artist’s beautifully crafted debut LP showcases his warmth, wit and optimism.
Vinnie Paolizzi’s self-titled album artwork.
Vinnie Paolizzi, a singer/songwriter originally from Pennsylvania, has been steadily making a name for himself in Nashville for the past decade. With the release of his self-titled debut LP in November 2023, his star will hopefully continue to rise as he reaches a broader audience. Great musicianship and Paolizzi’s smooth, endearing vocals make this a record worth celebrating.
The album takes us through lost love and struggle with a sprinkling of optimism and an abundance of clever lines woven throughout. It opens with “Proud of What I Did Today,” a wonderfully down-home, down-to-earth everyday person’s anthem of positivity. It’s a song about taking it easy on ourselves and taking what each day gives us, summed up superbly by the chorus:
As long as I can feel my fingers and open up my eyes
I ain’t letting worry linger; I’d rather spend my time
Laughing at the thunder and fighting through the rain
Knowing I’ll wake up tomorrow proud of what I did today
Amen, brother.
The third track on the album, “Left My Heart Behind” (feat. Meg McRee), is a standout. This song brilliantly takes the deeply emotional situation of a man’s lost love and tells it through a narrator who likens heartbreak to losing his car keys. The narrator has all the charm of your favorite sitcom’s aloof character (Michael Kelso, Kyle Anderson, Inspector Gadget, etc.). I love that element of humor in the song, but Paolizzi’s voice projects a kind sincerity that pulls the listener in even more, making this a great, unique song.
Vinnie Paolizzi. Video still from “Ahead Of Me (Acoustic Live Performance)”.
One of The Vinnie Paolizzi LP’s most striking tracks, “As Far As Goodbyes Go,” is a breakup song with superb use of humor and metaphor. The opening line (“As far as goodbyes go, it could’ve been worse”) sets the tone, priming our empathy while injecting a little humor that I’m coming to understand and enjoy as a trait of Paolizzi’s work. Throughout the song, clever references establish the narrator as being the road his ex was driving on. The last lines revisit the title and opening lyric, with a twist: “As far as heartbreaks go, this may not be my last / Bought a house in tomorrow, but you still crash in my past.”
The last song on The Vinnie Paolizzi LP, “Ahead of Me,” exudes a pleasing optimism and ties into some of the themes and metaphors from previous tracks:
I’m not done, at least not for good
I’ve got a few more miles under this hood
Give me an oil change, a little gasoline
My best days are ahead of me
Lyrically, it’s the perfect song to close the album, and hearing Paolizzi say he isn’t done is a nice cherry on top! Hopefully this is only the first of many offerings from this talented artist.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jacson Miller. Photo courtesy of the author.
Jacson Miller is a huge fan of great Americana music and the songwriters who create it. He is a passionate supporter of equity in education and youth development as a Board Member of the nonprofit ‘Search Institute’. A long-time resident of Minneapolis, he grew up in southern Indiana, has a Business degree from Purdue University, an MBA from Duke University, and loves being a dad, playing guitar, and songwriting.
