John Taglieri is a name that many readers of Rockeyez may not be familiar with but I have been following his career since 1999 when he released his first solo CD entitled “Leap of Faith”. He is a New Jersey-based singer-songwriter, and he’s made a pretty good career for himself with his constant touring around the US and multiple CD releases. I first read about his latest project, “Lives”, several months ago and it is quite an undertaking. Taglieri has decided to produce four separate six song EP’s chronicling the fictional lives of Max Knight and Cate Alston and how their somewhat dysfunctional paths in life have brought them together and tore them apart. And not only is Taglieri working on the CD’s but he is also providing the storyline for what is four separate storybooks being written buy Gil Gonzalez to accompany the EP’s.

The first volume of “Lives” was released in June and it introduces us to the characters of this story. I decided to read the book first so as to paint a better pitcher when listening to the CD. Each of the six songs on the EP is also a chapter of the book. The CD opens with the track “Ferris Wheel” which is a slightly off-center alternative rock tune. In the opening chapter of the book this is where we are introduced to Max Knight. Max is a slightly complicated soul made so by his upbringing as an Army brat and a possessive father.

Track two is named “Breathe” and it’s another slightly alternative sounding rock tune in which we are introduced to Cate Alston. She is an equally complicated soul and one who has never had much luck in her love life. It should be noted that with the exception of a couple tracks Taglieri provides most of the instrumentation on the record. One of those exceptions is national recording artist PAT MCGEE BAND guitarist Brian Fechino, who happens to be a fellow New Jerseyan. I mention this because the sound of the PAT MCGEE BAND might be a good point of comparison to which Taglieri is influenced.

The third track of the CD is where this EP starts to take shape for me musically. “Make A Mistake With Me” is a pop rock tune with some great chunky guitar sounds and melodically sung vocals from Taglieri. The tune features a great sing-along chorus and really gives flight to the story. In relation to the storyline of the book this song centers on the first real introduction of Max and Cate to each other and a quickly made pact to take a trip across the country together.

“The Lives of Splattered Flies” is a favorite of mine off the EP. It has a little bit of the late 90’s alternative rock sound to it but it’s the story that it tells that makes this a quality song for me. It centers on the cautious beginning, fairytale-like blossoming of a love story and dysfunctional complications of the lives of our characters.

“With You I Want To Be” deals with the fallout of those dysfunctional complications and has some of the best lyrics of the album as it deals with the breakdown of the relationship between our characters. It is a poignant song with thought-provoking words. It’s another favorite of mine for sure.

The final song of this EP is “Farewell” and it’s an acoustic-based rock tune with more poignant feelings and is just about sung to perfection by Taglieri as he tells the story of the couples parting of ways on their journey cross-country.

This is a great story so far and unique concept by a talented artist and the book and CD go well together. I really am looking forward to volume 2, which will be released in late October 2009.

Open your mind and check out the website http://thelivesproject.com for some more interactive features and join in on the journey of two dysfunctional souls and see how it plays out.