simple things
Derek Swain
Shaggy Mane Music
1998
11 tracks
The name simple things perhaps best sums up this release. This is neither positive nor negative. Many listeners may quite enjoy the songs of Derek Swain as presented here. Others may find the presentation uninteresting or even boring. More than just simple, the songs on this release are safe and unchallenging for the listener.
This release has a very retro sound to it, echoing the popular folk music of the late Sixties and early Seventies. Most often, Swain's voice and vocal style is reminiscent of James Taylor or Neil Young during that period. Some songs move forward in time, bringing to mind Young's "Harvest" ("slow dance") and his later work with Pearl Jam ("gotta give"). Swain even manages to approach the sound of the blander Eagles material ("love of yesterday").
There's nothing specifically wrong with the songs, words or music, on this release. It's competently written and performed and certainly well produced. It is also very derivative, saying more about Swain's musical antecedents than about Swain himself as an artist. This is a safe album, folk-vanilla designed to offend no-one.
Most of the songs here were co-written by Swain and John Gulley. It's not one hundred percent clear in the credits, but it appears that Swain wrote the words and Gulley the music. Both produced the CD and were primary performers of the music. Although Swain's name is on the cover, it's clear that Gulley played a major role in this production, so perhaps it doesn't matter much who wrote the words and who the music. Certainly the quality of words and music is consistent.
The music, or at least the performance of it, is cautious, hewing to the middle of the road to the point it seems destined to be played in elevators and small cafes. In a literary sense, the words are like the music. These lyrics are technically well written and mechanically sound (except for one awful grammatical glitsch made for rhyme in "in time"). They are also sweet, syrupy, almost cliche, harking back to the worst of the Sixties.
Swain is not a bad writer or a bad performer. The feeling on this release is of a fairly new artist who has not yet spread his wings, so takes timid steps toward that edge from which he must fly. That final step out from the safety of ground is the hardest for any artist to take. If and when Derek Swain takes that step, he may indeed soar to new heights where his songs can shine. It will be interesting to follow Swain's progress.
For more information on Derek Swain, visit the website for Shaggy Mane Music.
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