World Keeps Turning
Brian Bonhomme
Independent
2000
6 tracks
Whether or not he does this consciously, Brian Bonhomme tends to make retro-music based on trends of two decades previous. Bonhomme's popular Eighties band "Roman Holliday" was a throwback to the rockabilly/swing-pop based rock and roll that was made popular by a number of British bands in the early Sixties, most notably Cliff Richard and the Shadows. In fact, Bonhomme's band often sounds like an updated version of Cliff Richard's hits. In the new century, the sound of Bonhomme's solo recordings again harks back twenty years to early Elvis Costello.
The songs on this release are quiet pieces in a pop vein. The instrumentation is kept simple, mostly guitar with an occasional additional instrument thrown in for effect. Where Elvis Costello could sometimes sound dangerous or even revolutionary, Bonhomme seems safer even when he seems to be trying to make a statement. What's missing is the anger. He sounds like an aging rock musician who has settled comfortably into the middle-class mainstream.
With a bit of thought, one might notice a few similarities between the voices of Bonhomme and Costello. However, the main similarity in their singing is that Bonhomme seems to be copying much of Costello's phrasing, inflection, and pacing. Bonhomme's voice is more nasal than Costellos, but the similarity in style is unmistakeable.
Bonhomme's lyrics are workmanlike and well-constructed. While the lyrics also have an Elvis Costello feel to them, it seems even more as though Bonhomme is striving toward the sort of romantic ballads written by songwriters like Canada's Dan Hill. Even when they do touch on social issues, Bonhomme's songs are at root sweet pop confections.
With only six songs on this release, I question the wisdom of including the title song twice. Beyond inclusion of a couple of additional instruments in minor roles, there is little difference between the version of "World Keeps Turning" that opens the set and the "acoustic" version that closes it. Rather than one of these similar tracks of the same song, Bonhomme might have done better to have included another song.
Some of the songs on this release feel empty, as though something were missing. As I listen, I think what's missing is a band or at least some additional instrumentation. The songs that work best here are the ones that enjoy some supplemental instrumentation to fill the spaces below Bonhomme's voice. Bonhommes vocals are restrained and quiet, crying out for the support that a band could provide.
Those who enjoy hearing a contemporary artist who can put a new face on a classic sound and can do it well will enjoy the solo work of Brian Bonhomme. Whether echoing the musical era of Cliff Richard or of Elvis Costello, Bonhomme does it with class, adding his own more contemporary elements while maintaining his own distinctive voice.
For more information on Brian Bonhomme's solo recordings, you can visit the Brian Bonhomme website. Listen to clips of four of the songs on World Keeps Turning at CD Baby. If you're interested for the sake of comparison, you can find some clips of the band "Roman Holliday" at www.romanholliday.co.uk
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Review written: March 11, 2005
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