Saturday, March 03, 2007

 

A First Review For "25 Things"


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A FIRST REVIEW OF "25 THINGS": 25 THINGS/Dan Garner A sprawling, ambitious project with 25 songs, ³25 Things² paints a diverse sonic and lyrical landscape that showcases Garner¹s broad diversity of musical influences. At times displaying the perceptive intellect of a Leonard Cohen, at others, exposing a Warren Zevon playful slyness, ³25 Things² cooks up a gumbo that sacrifices stylistic continuity for an always surprising and satisfying ³eclectricity.² On the opening cut, ³I Told You Before,² Garner attempts to impart world-wizended wisdom to his children, and that lyrical maturity is masterfully counterbalanced with the raw musical energy of a proto-power punk music bed. This is a great device for luring the kids in to listen to the message with music they can relate to. Telling an obstinate, know-it-all teen, ³you¹ve got more issues than Time Magazine² smartly sums up every parents dilemma with their rebels with or without causes. Garner moves from the energetic power of proto-punk to the realm of ³sensitive singer/songwriter² with effortless ease. In ³You¹re So Beautiful² he tells the object of his affections that ³you¹re so beautiful, you don¹t even know.² This is a subtle but searing romantic line guaranteed to make a heart melt, right up there in a league with ³you had me at hello.² On several notable cuts like ³What Makes The World Go Round,² ³Someone Who Can² and the unsentimentally nostalgic ³Bossier Strip² Garner slips into the smooth blues grooves indigenous to this area . Garner is not only a prolific writer but a well-versed student of the musical history of this area and beyond. Given that talent, Garner references several genre and artists without sounding like he is copying any of them. His vocals do occasionally evoke early Dylan and Nick Drake, even Michael Franks here and there, but he never appears to be doing a cover. And, since he wrote all the songs on the CD, he has kept everything well within the range of his voice. There are some stand out guest star s on ³25 Things² including guitarists Mark Griffith, Ron Johnson and Dave Green; background vocalists Cookie Garner and Amelia Blake and The Ever Ready Gospel Singers to name a few. Ron Johnson¹s fluid, blistering lead work on ³Someone Who Can² channels Stevie Ray Vaughn¹s swagger and Dave Green adds an alternative and progressive fire to ³I Told You Before.² Griffith¹s ferocious space blues attack on ³Bossier Strip² seems to come from a Boom Boom Room in a parallel dimension. The closing title cut gives us a hilarious menu of arm chair philosophical nuggets encased in a musical shell of talking blues a la early Dylan. They are guaranteed to make you think - and to make you smile, if not laugh out loud. Remember, ³it ain¹t the jeans that make your butt look fat.² Tales of love both lost and found; insights both profound and tongue in cheek; superlative songwriting craft; and vocals comfortable in their own skin. These elements make for one of the most entertaining and enjoyable releases in recent memory. All songs written by Dan Garner. Produced by Dan Garner Mastered and Released by Why The Hell Not Records Art Design: J.K. Potter ----------Karl Hasten, The Forum
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