Rocco DeLuca Fan.com

Top 25 For 2007 - No. 22: “Colorful” - Rocco DeLuca & The Burden

by Ryan Welton

Of the 25 songs on this year’s Top 25 list, only 17 I’d estimate were hits. By hit, I mean that the song was a commercial success relative to radio play, video play, pop culture saturation and chart position.

And, introducing the other tunes to you is something I get a big kick out of.

Take the tune at No. 22 — “Colorful” by Rocco De Luca & The Burden. Not a chart hit by any stretch, I heard this blues-inspired tune just a couple months ago on iTunes somewhere, perhaps on one of its in-program radio stations.

This isn’t to say that Rocco DeLuca and his band won’t be successful. They were discovered and signed to an indie label by none other than Kiefer Sutherland and Jude Cole. Sutherland of “24″ fame, and Cole of “Start The Car” fame.

OK, so you probably have no idea who Jude Cole is.

All you need to know about DeLuca is that he’s played with John Lee Hooker. He’s played with Johnny Cash. His specialty is the dobro, and he plays a mean slide guitar. For you blues aficionadoes, DeLuca’s work would probably sound best live.

However, I’m a guy who appreciates the perfected package, production and all. And this tune, “Colorful,” had to grow on me. But when it did, I realized that I had stumbled upon a gem of a musician. This song is simple but sophisticated, bluesy yet friendly to the ear that loves its pop.

My gut hunch says this is a song I love well beyond the season, something I point to as a hidden gem of this decade. For now though, relative to my vast array of criteria for the 2007 Top 25, “Colorful” will have to settle for No. 22.