Scott Celani Band “For What It’s Worth” (single)

Buffalo NY-based Scott Celani cuts to the current chase with an amazing new single, a cover of the Buffalo Springfield classic “For What It’s Worth,” and it couldn’t come out any better.  Buffalo has a music scene that is full of seriously amazing players, and that alone is humbling for anyone to be involved in, it’s that famous of an area for it.  But this is the first I’ve heard of Celani, so I also made an effort to catch up on other tracks to get to know him from an original music standpoint and also liked what I have heard.

URL: https://www.scottcelani.com/

Most musician’s in the Buffalo pipeline are used to playing throughout the Midwest and Canada, of which Celani is no exception to that basic rule, so to speak.  The area is indeed rich with great blues and blues rock history, and Celani checks out as the professional he sounds to be.  And this is only one track to cover but there’s a string of others worth visiting at his website for more where his music comes from.  It was like a breath of fresh air to take it, and I recommend doing so but this track also might lead anyone to it, as it did myself.

“For What It’s Worth” is a song I ignored for many, many years, just because it was played so much when I was young that I always made an effort to get away from the norms coming over the airwaves and search for what’s not on the radio.  In fact, I have bought a few copies over the years since, because when I gravitated back to it I realized what a good song it truly is.  I am happy to say that Celani does this song justice with a refresh that seems as vital today as it did way back when the song was first released. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_OqDxBCSQE

Celani pays his respects to the song and the original authors, but also lends the current times to an old classic, especially in the video which is also worth seeing but does contain some strong visual content to make the point without overdoing it.  The state of the nation is concerning to all during the global pandemic, but it is also not just a national problem, and this song and video play to the humanity factor.  It is a symbol of hope with encouragement to everyone, not just Americans.

The music and words on offer here speak for themselves, but Celani brings something new to it worth exploring and it plays well alongside the original because I played them back to back as I felt compelled to hear them in unison.  It is a more energetic take on what is generally a slow-moving song with a quiet vibe, as where Celani kicks it up and totally modernizes it, adding to what is already a great song to begin with.  “For What It’s Worth” has been transformed to another place on this version, the place we are at now.

Nicole Killian

The music of Scott Celani Band has been heard all over the world in partnership with the radio plugging services offered by Musik and Film Radio Promotions Division.  Learn more https://musikandfilm.com