Heyyy, I'LL be in Milwaukee for the show, along with a couple of friends of mine. Just a couple more weeks... looking forward!
Anyway... Okay, I've had a week and some change to lsietn to the CD now. And so far, I'm with the majority... incredible CD! It sounds good from beginning to end.
I've always been a big DDY fan, and liked his tunes from rockin' to mellow to cheesy. That said, and please don't lynch me, lsiten to what I'm syaing and not what it sounds like I'm saying, here... I think "Breathe Again," and to a slightly lesser extent, "I believe in You" sound a little out-of-place on this CD. I do NOT think they are bad songs at all. A tad cheese, a tad showy... he does that very well. I think the other nine songs are so much of a departure, while as the same time a revistation, that they make a cohesive listening statement in and of themselves. These two songs pull me a little out of it, to be honest. Again, I like them. Nice harmonies, well-done... just sound odd in the mix to me personally.
My only other nit-pick are in the midst of all the harmonies, now and then... a few sound *almost* over-produced. But I think I'm just spoiled by the particular sound generated by Dennis and Tommy and JY. "This Time Next Year" has a very "Queen" sound to the chorus (I think anyway... anyone else feel that?), which I find kind of cool, actually. But so much of the rest of it is spot on, it's hard to complain.
And that's it. Otherwise, every single bit of it it flawless. I agree that "Crossing the Rubicon" is lyrically, vocally, and sonically amazing. I'd love for this song, by some twisted bout of luck, timing, fluke, or whatever... accidentally gat some radio play and do something. I dunno, like some movie picks it up for a soundtrack piece, and the movie makes it big, and the single becomes associated with it... Cuz you guys are right. The radio's not going to just sponge it up on their own. But if something happened where it worked its way in the back way... ya know? I love it, and I'd kill to hear more like it from him.
And the rest is just so solid, and he's on the top of his form without question. It sounds so much more like an effort to show us something than his past solo albums (which I love and would never knock, by the way)... But they feel like more than just a new collecting of songs. They're obviously inspired. It's really good to see DDY on the top of his game again.
So there it is, for what it's worth. All I want to know now is... when's he gonna start working on his next CD?
