Been there and gone.
Mike Daley
Independent
2000
15 tracks
Hamilton, Ontario is increasingly a hotbed of singer-songwriter activity as more local artists become known across the province and into the rest of Canada and the United States. That this increasing recognition of Hamilton artists grows out of a supportive musical community is evident in Mike Daley's Been Here and Gone. The musicians involved include several local Hamilton songwriters of rising prominence, including co-producer Rob Lamothe.
For Mike Daley, the result of this cooperative environment and the support of his friends and community is a classy, well produced set of fifteen songs. That's not to say that all is good with this release. While the sound is mostly slick and hard to fault, there are spots where it just seems to stumble. These awkward spots detract, however slightly, from the overall impact of this release.
In this case, at least, I'll admit that I may be nit-picking just a bit. In general, this is a strong release with excellent production and well-crafted music. However, I think there are some problems with Daley's lyrics. In several places, Daley seems to have difficulty getting his words out. One might imagine that Daley's just not that strong a singer, but the rest of this release suggests otherwise. I think the problem may be that Daley has left some of his lyrics an edit or two short of final polish. He's saved by the lush musical presentation that backs up his vocals.
"Back to You" is one song where Daley's vocal seems to trip over his words. A jumpy little song with an almost Buddy Holly feel to it, including a sweet pop melody, it falters at several points as Daley seems to struggle getting his words out in the right places. Most often, it feels as though he may have attempted to cram too many syllables into a bar. For me at least, this song would work better with those awkward bits smoothed out.
"11:39" is another song that exhibits these characteristics. This song carries melodic echoes of 1962's "Rhythm of the Rain" but again falters in places as the vocalist encounters awkward phrasing in the lyric. With a slight polish on the luric, this could be a much stronger song.
"The Famous Time Machine" is perhaps the strongest song on this release. Starting with a bit more than a half minute of straight ahead blues guitar, it then shifts into a cool swampy sound reminiscent as much as anything of Bobbie Gentry's "Ode To Billy Joe" but with a vocal style closer at times to Lyle Lovett. The lyric evokes a dark cynicism that becomes even more obvious in some of the other songs in this set. There is a subtle tension between this lyric and the smooth, almost romantic instrumentation and melody. Even in this song, however, there are places where Daley seems to be tripping over his own worlds. As well, there's a sort of whispered sub-text [meant to be a harmony?] that seems somehow off and might best have been left out.
Perhaps the darkest of the songs here, "Saracen Blade" reads like the diary of a serial killer. The tension here is palpable and hard-edged. The listener is invited to enter the mind of the central character and to feel his pain. The slow-rocking instrumental underlines the lyric with ominous shadow. Some listeners may decide nevermore to go out at night. This song may turn out to be a gothic masterpiece. What may keep it from receiving widespread airplay is its singular lack of humour, even dark humour.
A number of the songs, including the first and third, begin with a vague, slow fade-in of the instrumental. There seems to be no reason for these songs to begin this way, except perhaps that the producers didn't have an idea of how to get straight into the song. These weak beginnings, especially on songs early in the set, tend to weaken the effect of the entire release.
"George St. Observation" is a sweet, lyrical piece with a highly visual sense. Less a song lyric than a poem, this song paints pictures like T. S. Eliot in his quieter moments. This is perhaps the least dark of any of these songs and, notwithstanding its very poetic nature, may be the most commercial among them.
Another poetic piece, "Disappeared" is thematically much the same as "In the Pines" in its more popular formulations, but presents images that darkly reflect the last lines of Eliot's "the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." It's a strange and interesting concoction of folk music and academic poetry.
While I think that Mike Daley has some room to grow as a songwriter and especially as a lyricist, Been here and gone. is an interesting and sometimes challenging release. The production is strong, as is the instrumental treatment. The vocals, if sometimes hesitant, do the job. The lyrics may need some fine-tuning, but they are generally quite good, especially in the more poetic songs. It will be interesting to hear what Mike Daley does next.
For those who are interested, there's a fairly extensive biography of Mike Daley available online at SoundClick.
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