Saturday, November 23, 2013

ARTIST OF THE MONTH REVIEW SHERMAN BAKER

ARTIST OF THE MONTH REVIEW
SHERMAN BAKER

SHERMAN BAKER
By Bruce J Maier


When I first heard this record by Sherman Baker it struck me as warm and familiar,  bringing me in yet something was strange enough to keep me listening. We've all been told that less is more but I believe there are other times when more is right. Such is the case with the deep tank reverb used on the album’s opening track The Knave which contributed a bit of a wash-out like the way some of the old Columbia recordings of Simon and Garfunkel’s voices were produced and of which I always loved. To accompany his voice Baker uses a steady rhythm on the low strings of the guitar to carry all the beat of the song’s intro while he weaves his melody in and out of the empty spaces and then, much to my joy the guitar tracks start to build with the drums and Bass coming in at the precise moment of perfection and I think I’m hearing a song that Al Stewart (Year Of The Cat) could have written back in the late nineteen-seventies. Not a bad way to start off a good record and I’m not implying that the song lacks originality at all. In fact most everything we hear today has pretty much been done before but the genius plays out by how we use the colors in the crayon box of music doesn't it? There are only a few notes in our musical scale yet there are millions of ways to sequence them, and Sherman Baker does a fine job arranging them his own way.

I found myself engaged in his song “ Highway Prayer “ with its arpeggiated acoustic guitar moving at a rapid pace against an ethereal sea of guitar-effect pads in the far background. It is soothing but not to the point of becoming a new-age meditation track by any means. The words of the poem are beautiful but sung softly so as to not be in your face unless you chose for them to be. Then I start getting into Baker’s head and his thought process as a producer; why he chose this, why that was left out – and realize the sheer artistry of the man.

There are several tracks on this CD that I really like for different reasons but most of all I favor the consistency that has Sherman Baker’s own brand in every melody, poem, arrangement and production. If I were to pick a personal favorite it would have to be We Grow Old because this song is sparse and quirky with it’s up-stoke rhythm and just a single voice setting the stage and slowly building the story. It then blooms like a sunflower of brightness and color with the drums and other instruments, criss-cross harmonies cascading and of course, that killer little slightly de-tuned upright piano that gives it a little Abbey Road charm. I don’t know that Mr. Baker is consciously channeling some Mr. Lennon or not, but it’s a very pleasant, touching and subliminal tribute to the man, or at least a style that the Fab One brought to the world so long ago with his Liverpool mates. So whatever the reason or motivation this is a great song!

Sherman Baker has proved in this self-titled release that he is a songwriter of substance and a very capable musician that I don’t always find combined in the music of today. See, I kind of think there are singers, songwriters, singer-songwriters and then a few of us other weirdo’s who not only want to paint the picture, we want to go to the store and mix the paint ourselves, maybe even make the canvas so that when the song is completed it’s our baby. There’s no one else to consult or to blame. When a record turns out this good though, we deserve to take a longer bow !

SHERMAN BAKER WEBSITE
http://www.damngoodtunes.com/Artist_Of_The_Month.html

Monday, November 4, 2013

CD REVIEW: Tiger Darrow's new record, Aqua Vitae w/free MP3



Just shy of 21, Tiger Darrow’s career has already woven a fabric more intricate and interesting than that of artists who have many years on her. Most notably, Tiger opened for The Eagles, Edie Brickell, Erykah Badu, Loudon Wainwright, Zoe Keating, and Michelle Shocked, as well as composing for the Robert Rodriguez film, Machete.  She is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, engineer, and singer/songwriter. Her third full-length album, Aqua Vitae, just came out a week ago.




There is no one box that could hold Tiger Darrow’s Aqua Vitae. The record feels like multiple genres cohesively combined, though Tiger herself considers her genre to be “alternative folk” music. With a similar sound and feel to ladies like Cara Salimando, Regina Spektor, and St. Vincent, Tiger’s personal style and voice come through clear and strong. Aqua Vitae makes it clear that Tiger has a gift for building a song. Her lyrics are visually stimulating and her varied vocals make them fantastically, audibly interesting too. Her vocals range from ethereal and tenuous, to powerful and precise, all of which can be heard layered within single songs.


There are a few stand out tracks on Aqua Vitae: "Lost and Found" bounces and flows charmingly, with a chorus that backs up its claim with a powerful drum beat. "Love Me Blind" adds a welcome harder and darker shade to the record, while Home is a simply just a beautifully poetic story you cant refuse. Tiger is definitely onto something. With three albums and a world of experience under her belt already, itll be really interesting to see what’s next…

By Anna Leuning