Music-palooza

Right now, I feel like my eyeballs are about to fall out of my head.  I have been staring at a computer screen all morning long, working on projects, and I think it’s addling my brains.  However, I thought I might as well post while I wait for this CD to burn- that’s what I’ve been working on today, burning CD’s.

I promised last time that I would give the full rundown of David Gray’s Life in Slow Motion.  It’s been out for a couple of months, but I just got it for Christmas, so it’s new to me… and holy crap.  There are moments on this CD that just break my heart.  I’ve posted before on how much I love David Gray, especially his album White Ladder- I think it’s one of the best CD’s of the last 10 years, in my humble opinion.  His 2002 release, New Day at Midnight, wasn’t as strong (I still liked it) but Life in Slow Motion recaptures some of the “magic” that we saw on White Ladder.  When I first listened to it, I thought, “It’s like he recorded White Ladder with a band and an orchestra!”  The songs all have a sweet, gentle feeling to them, and some of the songs on Life in Slow Motion almost feel like a progression from the songs on White Ladder.  This is the height of compliments coming from me, because I think that the songs on White Ladder are some of the greatest.  
Special favorites of mine:

1. “Alibi”: the first cut on the CD, it’s kind of got a dark, dusky feel to it.  When I listen to it, I think of someone walking dark streets, maybe in London Chicago or some other city I’ve never been but which always seems dark and rainy and gritty.  It’s not a hopeless song, though- it definitely has a lift at the end, like dawn is breaking and the person is going home.
2. “Lately”: it’s a great post-breakup song.  “Honey lately/I’ve been way down/A load on my mind…” The person singing is bitter, he hurts, he’s on the receiving end of the breakup and he doesn’t understand why it happened.  This song exhibits why I like David Gray so much- he tells the story without telling all of it.  He doesn’t insult my intelligence by spelling out in kindergarten language.  He leaves a little room in there for me to think about it and figure things out on my own.
3. “Ain’t No Love”:  Holy crap.  I loved this song the first time that I heard it.  One of my favorite songs from White Ladder is “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.”  I think it’s just a masterpiece, bittersweet and sad and remembering the good times in the past… “Ain’t No Love” reminds me of “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” in that bittersweet way. The subject matter is a little different, but the feeling is still there.  I don’t know how to describe it.  It’s beyond words, and it’s my favorite song on the CD.

The orchestrations and arrangements on this CD are awesome.  Strings, percussion, guitars, are all used skillfully and to good effect.  He uses a lot of piano, and maybe that’s one of the reasons I like it so much.  I have a real weakness in my heart for piano-driven rock, and that is definitely what this.  Something else that I admire about David Gray is that his songwriting rings so true.  I don’t know about you, but I can always tell when someone doesn’t believe what they’re singing.  David Gray writes from his heart and his depth of experience, and you can tell in his songwriting.  It’s vulnerable, heartfelt, and mature.

Anyway.  Off that subject.  Like I said, I have been burning CD’s this morning- I’ve been making Jessica a “Broadway Musical Education.”   She wanted to know more songs from Broadway musicals, so I told her that I would make her a “mix tape.”  Well, that “mix tape” has turned into two CD’s of assorted Broadway tunes, in chronological order, and two other complete soundtracks of Broadway musicals (Songs for a New World and Wicked.)  And as soon as I can borrow The Last 5 Years from Danielle, she’ll get that, too. (Jason Robert Brown, you are a god among insects.)  I went a little overboard, but there’s just so much good stuff that I couldn’t bear to leave out.  As it is, I totally forgot to include songs from Big River (which I was in for TLC last year) and some other shows.  I admit that the compilation is a little biased- she didn’t get any Andrew Lloyd Webber because I don’t really like him (With the exception of… well, I can’t think of anything right off the top of my head, mostly because I don’t really like him.)  So it’s not really a comprehensive list, because I put six songs from Children of Eden on there because it’s my favorite musical.  While I was putting the lists together, I rediscovered some really good stuff that I forgot I liked, like the music from Chess and The Lion King (yes, two entirely different musicals, but both with lyrics by Tim Rice, so fancy that!)  

Time for me to go- praise team awaits, and after that, I have Annie rehearsal.  Adios,

Brianne <><