mail: daniel_fjall@hotmail.com
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ron sexsmith whereabouts
Ron Sexsmith Released: 1995 Rating: 6/10 Track listing: 1. Secret Heart/ 2. There’s A Rhythm/ 3. Words We Never Use/ 4. Summer Blowin’ Town/ 5. Lebanon, Tennessee/ 6. Speaking With The Angel/ 7. In Place of You/ 8. Heart With No Companion/ 9. Several Miles/ 10. From A Few Streets Over/ 11. First Chance I Get/ 12. Wastin’ Time/ 13. Galbraith Street/ 14. There’s A Rhythm It should be so simple to like Ron Sexsmith. He’s got a voice that is much easier to get used to than Bob Dylan or Neil Young, a voice that sometimes is shaky and cracks on the high notes which is always a good thing if done good. It makes it so much more honest than the Backstreets Boys perfect pitched voices. Ron writes simple melodies with colorful chord changes that isn’t too obvious where they want to go. He writes simple lyrics that should be affecting. Still, he rarely manages to affect me or move me in any way. Now, there are moments and glimpses of brilliance on this self titled album. They mostly arrives in the quieter and sparsely arranged songs, as well as when Ron settles in as a storytelling guy who sees things from the outside, rather than a when he sings biographicical songs. “Several Miles” and “Speaking With Angels” are two numbers that immediately comes to mind, but also the two versions of “There’s A Rhythm”. The second, which ends the album, is my favorite. It is the only track on the album that is produced by Daniel Lanois and it stands head and shoulders above everything else here. Lanois is one of the best producers to be found in the music business and I do believe that Sexsmith and Lanois is a perfect combination. Imagine that couple making a full album together. It could be magical.
Whereabouts Whereabouts is the Canadian’s third album. Ron is clearly a singer/songwriter at heart, but is also quite pop-influenced. All songs are delivered nicely and unoffensive with mainly acoustic instruments and a string quartet here and there. Everything is performed professionally and there’s nothing to really complain about. On the other hand, there’s nothing to go particularly wild about either. You get the feeling that he thinks a little too much. That every song is so carefully planned and studied that the original feeling is lost somewhere on the way. You know what they say, it’s the journey that’s important and not the destination. That is very accurate here. Sexsmith seems to have used both maps and compass when he recorded this album. He studied the roads and paths before he went for the trip and bought a first class ticket on a train or plane. The result is that he’s missing the experience, wisdom and torns, but also the confusion, doubt and weariness that Bob Dylan, Neil Young and the other great ones have earned by walking and crawling their way instead of sitting relaxed on a plane. However, the first half of this album is too strong to dismiss Ron Sexsmith completely. Up to “In A Flash” the album boarders to true classic material and his melodic skill shines through. Unfortunately, the album turns generic and bland somewhere in the middle. Still, the album is probably worth your money, because of the brilliant first six songs. You might found a hidden gem or two on the second part, but it’s not likely. If you like Beck’s Mutations, Ed Harcourt’s Here Be Monsters and generally is a mellow music fan, it’s well worth checking out.
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