The Way We Are (songs written by Fred Moolten)
various artists
Great Gulf Records
2000
13 tracks
The cover describes The Way We Are as "a blues, folk, and cabaret album." Perhaps. There are elements of all three styles included here. However, when I think of folk or blues I tend to think in terms of single musicians or small ensembles. Cabaret might be the more accurate description of this music. For me, it falls even more neatly into the category of American music theatre.
These are songs that do not just tell a story but tell it from the point of view of a specific character. These are songs that might spring naturally out of a conversation, the way it happens on the Broadway stage or a movie musical. All that's missing is a linking script and these songs could be the libretto for a new musical. With more than thirty performers involved, this is a big, theatrical production rich with dramatic possibilities.
Because of their interconnectedness, it's hard to discuss one song or the other out of context. The story in each song ties back to the one before and forward to the one following. Each is only one chapter in Moolten's tale. As in life, all things are not equal and, if some songs on their own may seem weaker, each song adds to the whole. And the whole works well for what it is.
For me, this group of songs seems dated. If it were a play, it would be a romantic family drama set somewhere in the American midwest during the Sixties and would star Richard Benjamin and Anne Margret with some Forties stars as their parents. Perhaps Tommy Tune would direct the movie. That's not bad. Ten years after, a piece like this would be simply dated. Forty years after, it becomes a period piece.
Recording was done at Miami, Florida, and at New Orleans, Louisiana, by two different sets of musicians, yet the sound and quality are overall consistent. This may be and probably is a credit to Fred Moolten's vision and careful overseeing of this project.
This is an intriguing exercise in making music that is uniquely American in style and scope, and is well worth giving a listen. Here is a range from pop to big band swing to the sort of rocking blues Ray Charles used to make.
For more information on this release and Fred Moolten's newest release, Moonlit River, visit Great Gull Records.
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Review written: February 16, 2005
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