Listening
Ken Whiteley
The Borealis Recording Company
2000
12 tracks
I would hate to be the radio station librarian attempting to categorize Ken Whiteley's music for filing. The last Whiteley release I reviewed was a wonderfully eclectic and interactive children's record. While it has a solid core of Christian and spiritual ideals that gives it a sort of unity, the music on Listening is even more eclectic and wide-ranging. It may be a librarian's nightmare, but it's a listener's dream.
On his own, Ken Whiteley is a fine musician and vocalist. On Listening he's joined by fifteen artists whose respective contributions bring a fullness and body to the songs. Yet this is not a big-band folk sort of sound. The instrumentals and backup vocals are restrained, enhancing and supporting Whiteley without going for bigness for its own sake. The end result is delightful.
I'm especially drawn to the antique sounding final track. "Candlelight" is a sort of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" love song, romantic and evocative of a bygone age. The instrumentation is sweet and rich in a laid back way. The lyric is simple, yet metaphorical and open to interpretation.
In contrast, "Woke Up This Morning" is a big gospel shout with lots of backup vocals and hand-clapping. As the first song in this set, "Woke Up This Morning" is a rousing introduction to what is to follow. This song also sets up some of the central themes on this release: faith and praise, human compassion and dignity, and in general a positive view of life.
The title song, "Listening" is arguably the most Christian song in this set, a paean to The Lord set out in simple words and presented in a lively gospel style. Possibly it stands out for this reason. Most other songs on this release have a more Cat Stevens style of praise and reverence, without the obvious Christian reference.
"Bird, Mole, Flower" brings to the selection a very Middle-Eastern sound, with swirling rhythms that bring to mind belly dancers and the bazaar. The lyric is very Whitmanesque expressing a relationship between nature and mankind, between the individual and the natural world in which he or she lives. This is perhaps the quirkiest song on Listening, but it has a certain appealing charm.
The music on this release ranges from folk to gospel to blues and jazz to world music. Even those categories don't adequately describe the eclectic feel Whiteley has brought to Listening. This is a release to delight all who enjoy music well written and performed and who enjoy variety and range in their music.
Those who want to know more about Ken Whiteley and his music will find information at KenWhiteley.com or on his page at Borealis.|
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