|
Review - "Back To The Dirt" | |
|
Brian Gladstone is one of those guys that seem to consist of opposites. He claims on the first page of his liner notes that he is a paradox. He calls himself, "a analogue guy trapped in a digital world." This makes sense since his profession is a electrical engineer specializing in magnetics research and design (R&D). Compare that to his music - which is a stripped down, totally unplugged non-technical sound - and one can see the paradox. When recording, Gladstone yanked out a chord when he realized that it was an electric bass sound. Being a child of the 60's, one can see where his music influences come from. However, he is more than a rehash of the 60's sound.
Gladstone's greatest strengths are his lyrics and his instrument playing. Here once again, he engages in the paradox of mixing older sounds and lyrics that echo the twenty-first century. This is probably the strongest in the song, "Cyberbabe." The listener is reminded of Arlo Guthrie in the voice and the modern group Prozzak in the lyrics. It might sound like a very odd combination, but it surprisingly works. The picking of the guitar with mention of VGA screens in this song melds the past with the present.
|
|
Artist @ CanEHdian |
 |
Paradoxing (if that is a word) again occurs in "Children Sleeping in Snow." Homelessness is most certainly a major problem as we head into the next millennium, not something that one would associate with the 1960's. Gladstone is very ably to combine an older sound with current situations. After repeated listening, one stops noticing the difference.
"Tripping Around" shows that Gladstone has not totally forgotten how to sound like the 60's. This one would not be out of place on a Peter, Mary, and Paul album. The sole instrumental on the release, "Lengthy Diatribe" is misnamed: it is neither lengthy or a diatribe. In fact, it is finger picking at its best. This is a great song.
Overall, Back To The Dirt is a very good first effort for Brian Gladstone. He is able to make the paradoxes on the album work to his advantage and his lyrics and instrumental ability are excellent.
By Dan Sanford, CanEHdian.com 2001
|
