Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Music Review: Coming from Somewhere Else by Various Artists

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Fun new takes on some classic songs
Cons: None
The Bottom Line:
Writers get their say
Rerecord signature songs
For a fresh new take




Friendly Jam Session of Writers

There's no doubt in my mind why Rocketown Records was my favorite label in the early part of this decade. Not only did they have three of my favorite artists at that time, but they also released little gems like Coming From Somewhere Else.

To say this is an unique idea for a CD is putting it mildly. It highlights four people who are usually behind the scenes, four writers. And there is no doubt about the talent here. I knew two of the names before I got the disc (Wayne Kirkpatrick and Billy Sprague), but I only knew the songs of the other two (Gordon Kennedy and Phil Madeira). Just because I didn't know those writers' names didn't mean I did love their songs. This is a collection of true classics recorded by several different artists. While most were hits in the 90's, there's a song that stretches back to the 80's on here.

The disc opens with the only new track. Written by all four men, "Coming from Somewhere Else" explores our propensity to be selfish and acknowledges that any good in us comes from "Somewhere Else." This is the only song where all four men trade lead vocals. In fact, they even sing some of the lines in harmony. It's guitar heavy with a nice strong beat.

The rest of the CD follows a pretty standard pattern. Each man sings the songs he wrote with the other providing background vocals and all four pitching in on the instruments.

Gordon Kennedy does almost a solo performance on PFR's hit "That Kind of Love." He does the guitar, bass, and vocals with Phil doing the keys. It sounds a little different just being a solo effort, but it is still the same soft rocker that was originally a hit.

Several of these men wrote for Susan Ashton. Since I'm a fan, I loved seeing these songs again. "You Move Me" was actually a hit for both Susan and Garth Brooks. This is an acoustic interpretation of the song with the emphasis on Gordon's guitar playing and only a little help from drums and keyboard. Phil's take on "Hunger and Thirst" gives it a soft rock feel with the inclusion of electric guitar. But "Grand Canyon" takes on a country flavor thanks to the dulcimer, mandolin, and melodica that Wayne plays.

Speaking of Wayne, he gets to cover Michael W. Smith's classic hit "Place in This World." It's got more electric guitar and keyboard than the original, but it is still a solid pop ballad.

Probably the biggest change here is to "Via Dolorosa." The Sandi Patty mega hit gets an acoustic makeover. Gone are the dramatic strings made famous in the original version. Instead, Billy's quiet guitar makes the lyrics more dramatic. There's even some accordion in the mix. Also interesting to note is that he leaves out the Spanish verse of the song. It makes the song shorter, but I don't mind.

The disc closes with "Change the World," which Gordon and Wayne wrote and was a hit for Wynonna and Eric Clapton. Wayne gets the lead vocals here and does a good job with this fun closer. The syncopated beat they give the song is infectious.

The disc must not have done too well when released. Why do I say that? Because it was advertised as volume 1 in the "Rocketown Writers Series," and we never saw any more entries. But that's too bad because Coming From Somewhere Else represents a great idea well executed.

CD Length: 40:38
Tracks:
1. Coming from Somewhere Else
2. That Kind of Love
3. Grand Canyon
4. Hunger and Thirst
5. Man After Your Own Heart
6. Place in This World
7. You Move Me
8. Everywhere I Look
9. Via Dolorosa
10. Change the World

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