Saturday, December 16, 2006

Ron Sexsmith "Whereabouts" 1999

That the term "singer-songwriter" is no longer one of abuse is at least partly because of the excellent Ron Sexsmith. A thirtysomething Canadian who sounds sometimes like a young Jackson Browne and sometimes like the Ray Davies of Village Green Preservation Society, moon-faced Ron writes and sings sweetly droopy songs that melt the heart and assuage the soul. Sexsmith brings an expanded palette to Whereabouts: banjos and clarinets, piccolos and English horns, all enriching his deceptively direct, predominantly 4/4-time songs. Produced and engineered by those masters of understatement Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake, it's a marginally bolder record than 1997's lovely Other Songs. The Kinks and Harry Nilsson are all over "The Idiot Boy" and "Beautiful View," while "Right About Now" is a smoochy soul ballad that Boz Scaggs might have sung back in 1976. For those who prefer their Sexsmith sparse, a sprinkling of forlorn ballads ("Doomed," "In a Flash") brings up the rear. Twelve near-perfect songs, the whole clocking in at under forty minutes. Who could really ask for more? -- Barney Hoskyns

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Now your logo is more groovy!Request: SHIRLEY COLLINS-SWEET PRIMEROSE. Thanks again-ALEX

16 December, 2006 09:22  
Blogger MrQwerty said...

This is great. Thanks so much.

07 February, 2007 10:16  
Blogger whadefu said...

thanx for this and all the other gems you have put up !!!!!

24 April, 2008 02:00  

Post a Comment

<< Home

2006 - - - - - - 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
2007 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
2008 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
2009 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
2011 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
2015 - - - - - 5 6