Beyond Appearances
Brent Titcomb
Manohar Records Inc.
2001
11 tracks
Outside the world of academic literature, in Canada there is a kind of benign neglect of Canadian artists in which lip-service is given the great talent that grows out of our culture but individual artists never receive the support or appreciation that such talent deserves. Most often an artist must become well-recognized in other countries before ever he or she becomes visible on the larger Canadian landscape. Like a desert, our culture appears as a wasteland but in the shadows beautiful things grow, and only once in a while one of these is exposed to the light.
In the world of Canadian music, Brent Titcomb remains in the shadows just this side of the light. Titcomb has been writing and performing songs in Canada for more than forty years. In 1964, he was a founding member of 3's a Crowd, a seminal Canadian folk-rock band that broke new ground in folk music performance for five years before breaking up. As a solo act, he has had a solid career as a performer, comedian, and actor. As a songwriter, he has had his songs performed and recorded by many artists and has created hits for stars such as Anne Murray. Yet I suspect most Canadians would not recognize the names of either Brent Titcomb or 3's a Crowd. That's a shame.
As with much of the best Canadian art, Brent Titcomb's work is not narrow or regional. His songs are most Canadian in the way that they draw upon diverse cultural influences from around the world, retaining their origins yet imbuing them with a strong sense of the Canadian cultural landscape. In this respect, Titcomb's words and music are perhaps an examplar of what is at once universal and native in Canadian art.
In August of this year, Brent Titcomb will turn 65, an age at which many people retire from whatever they've been doing. The writing and the voice of Titcomb are as strong as ever and show no signs of wavering. After forty- plus years in his art, this is a writer and musician still in his prime and continuing to add his own bits to the Canadian cultural mosaic.
Beyond Appearances is a powerful blend of personal and socially conscious lyrics, interesting musical approaches, and strong vocals. At all levels and in every song, the quality is consistently strong. These are well-crafted songs performed with the skill and style that comes with experience and a well-honed talent.
Titcomb's lyrics are not poetry in the literary sense. They are tight and concise and some convey powerful images and emotions, but they give no sense that they had been written for any other reason than to be sung. On the printed page or as spoken-word, some of these lyrics would very simply fall flat. As song, they are powerful and evocative. Based on the songs on this release, Titcomb is one of Canada's finest lyricists.
It doesn't hurt that Titcomb has a strong, full baritone voice that fills a song out to its edges, or that he knows how to bring out the emotion of the words he sings. Had he begun his career a couple of decades earlier, Titcomb might have become one of the great popular crooners of the Forties and Fifties. With the confidence of a writer who knows the quality of his ideas, Titcomb never allows the instruments to cover the vocals, so that his voice is front and centre, giving full-body and meaning to his words.
Black Water is a strong song to open the set. It's a dark, swampy number with a sound reminiscent of songs like The Tragically Hip's "New Orleans is Sinking" or Ian Moore's "Muddy Jesus." Titcomb's arrangement is restrained yet powerful, with strong support from Colin Linden and Tommy Graham. There also appears to be an uncredited occasional backup vocal that only adds to the eerie swamp-music effect of this performance.
There's a Caribbean rhythm behind several of these songs that serves to brighten the feel of the entire set. "Glory Come, Glory Go" has a jumpy near-calypso beat that falls somewhere between Paul Simon and Jimmy Buffet. Out of context, this song might be mistaken for a Fifties hit from Jamaica. "Talk to Me" has a more African feel that is again reminiscent of some of Simon's work. Songs like "It's You" and "It's a Lovely Day" ride along comfortably on a bed of reggae that harks back to the Sixties or early Seventies.
"Bay of Sails" is a pretty Roger Whittaker sort of song performed to perfection by Titcomb. "Bring Back the Love" is a sort of ecological love song that leads naturally into "Tibetan Bells" to close the set with a paean for the plight of the Tibetan people.
If there is unity in this set, it is accomplished through the caring attention of the writer and performer of the songs. Observed more closely, each song is different and special, presenting its own unique story in a style all its own. The strong link that brings it together as a whole is the accomplished hand of the artist, Brent Titcomb.
Those who are interested in learning more about Canadian troubador Brent Titcomb can visit his home at www.brenttitcomb.com. If you go here, you'll find a medley of songs from this release (Black Water Rising/It's a Lovely Day/Tibetan Bells) in RealAudio or mp3 format as well as clips from Titcomb's earlier albums.
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Review written: March 21, 2005
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