Old and new sounds

I’m feeling a bit disappointed after listening to Lincoln Brewster’s latest release, Real Life. I’m a long time fan and think he’s a phenomenal guitar player and worship leader. But on this new album, it just feels like Brewster is simply coasting on autopilot. The CD is filled with run of the mill chord progressions and lyrical cliches. As listeners, we need something more substantial than lines like:

You are amazing, more than amazing, Forever our God, You’re more than enough… [More Than Amazing] and You are good so good all the time all my life… and I’m still singing because You are so good…[So Good]

Come on, I expect a bit more growth from an artist like Brewster. yes, I suppose it’s his choice to focus his songwriting toward “newbie” Christians which explains his none-too-deep themes/content but still, shouldn’t he, as an established artist, try to explore new ground other than simply “praise & worship”? With his chops, it would be far more interesting for him stretch out the instrumental arrangements a la prog-rock. Frankly, the simple chord structures and mundane lyrics are such a waste for an outstanding guitarist like Brewster.

And don’t get me started on the overall sound of the album. For some reason Brewster likes to highly compress the overall mix so that there’s no dynamic range to speak of. The result is a lifeless sound mix with no punch from the drums. Everything just sounds flat with no sizzle or excitement. The compressed mix probably sounds great on radio but on a decent sound system combined with the lackluster songwriting, results in a forgettable album.

Even with an official release date, it’s hard for me to believe that Ric Ocasek finally agreed after all this time to reunite THE CARS. I mean, what’s so different for Ocasek now compared to back in 2005 when Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes pleaded with him to get back together? And we all know what a disaster that was… But hey, I’m not one to complain. Come on, bring on a full blown tour, I say!!! … but I’m jumping the gun here. Let’s slow down and go over what we know, shall we?

Concord Music Group confirms that they’ll be releasing a new album by The Cars on May 10, 2011 titled Move Like This. The first single, “Sad Song”, should be out sometime before then. The newly reformed group consists of Ocasek, Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes and David Robinson. With the new recordings, they didn’t replace Benjamin Orr with another bassist but rather had Hawkes play the bass lines on his synths.

There are only a few TV-series boxsets that I'd purchase for my personal collection and I'd have to say that HBO's Deadwood series would be one of them. The highly acclaimed series featured great writing, dialogue and superb acting. Set in 1870's in South Dakota, the series detailed the dark-side of a mining town out in the wild west. Gamblers, con artists, whores and general lawlessness were the order of the day back then. This western is far from the old school westerns my dad used to watch. You won't find any romanticized, white-washed John Wayne-era storylines here. This is as gritty as they come with vulgar language, savage brutality and downright ruthless characters. But the fascinating true-to-life people and the dirty things they do are the very things that make viewers come back for more.

Can you imagine yourself being out west in that era? I'm thinking that life wasn't as sanitized as what was shown on "Little House on the Prairie". With slimeballs and oily wealth-seekers on every corner, I would have kept close to Seth Bullock and his men. If your a fan of the series like me, be sure to take advantage of Amazon's "gold box deal" on February 3rd. You won't find a better price for the complete DVD box set anywhere else. Please note that the deep discounted sale price will only be good for one day so jump on it while you can!