Review - Dave Edwards

LDS Music World

You’ll Be Smiling - Tipping my hat to David Edwards’ Tipping Pictures

*** (3 out of 4 stars)

Albums which endear themselves to you over time, and win permanent places in your CD changer, don’t always start off that way. There might be two or three songs that grab you initially- the one they played over and over on the radio, and a couple more that stuck out the first time you played through the album. But otherwise, the rest of the album sometimes seems weaker by comparison, and you may end up thereafter listening to it piecemeal; picking out only those favorite tracks that made a strong enough first impression. Albums aren’t marketed with the tagline- "try it for 30 days, and if you’re not satisfied…", but perhaps they should be, because sometimes it takes the further commitment to the product you purchased for it to really work the way it’s supposed to.

Such was the case for me as I listened to Tipping Pictures, the debut album by LDS artist David Edwards. The first listen yielded a few standouts, and several other songs which sounded alright, but not as memorable. The second time I put the disc on, I found myself jumping to just those few tracks that stood out the first time, and if I had continued doing that, I may have burned a rut in those tracks from then on, and missed out on an otherwise wonderful album. But thankfully, I gave the whole disc another full listen, and just in that second time alone, the further attachment to it was substantial. Songs which hadn’t grabbed me the first time had now assumed an air of familiarity, and I was already singing along to things that I had originally thought of as ‘not as memorable’. By the third and fourth listens, I was actually skipping over the songs which I had previously favored, to once again hear and enjoy the others. That tells me that this album has a depth and character deeper than I might have known had I continued with that first impression alone.

The disc opens with the laid-back, bluesy number, "If I Sang You A Song", which sounds like it could have been covered by the Grateful Dead. The rhythm in this song is sometimes a bit loose and uneven, but not oppressively so, and the mood is light and fun, and a nice welcome to the rest of the disc. The next track, "Big Blue World", is a sweet charmer that has enough Beatles techniques and influences to make the guys in Oasis jealous. Although Edwards’ influences are sometimes transparent, as in this track, they don’t overwhelm your perception of his own songwriting voice, which is certainly strong enough in its own right.

Next is a slow, moody number called "Fire on the Mountain", which nicely evokes, both musically and lyrically, the anxious feelings of a forest fire creeping along the side of a mountain toward your home. As with many of David’s lyrics, there is another level of interpretation here that can be inferred, in this case an ‘end-of-the-world’ metaphor. That may not have been intentional, but it illustrates that his lyrics are often broad and colorful enough to allow us to take our own personal things from them.

Following "Fire on the Mountain" is a clear standout track; the infectious "He’ll Be Smiling", which starts with a riff very similar to that of "Fire…", but sped up to a more brisk pace. The song has a deceptively simple melody and chorus, which is really quite exquisite and unique in its delivery and its meaning, as it covers some of the various stages of life, and how our perceptions change over time. While Edwards’ "LDS-ness" isn’t flaunted or overt on this record, there are many indications throughout of where his faith lies, and this track demonstrates that, with its refrain of "there is one man, waiting in the garden, and he’ll be dying" followed by "there is one babe, lying in a manger, and he’ll be smiling".

Other highlights on the album include "Annie", a bouncy pop number, which is tinged with sadness in tribute for a girl David knew whose life was tipping like pictures on a wall; "Neptune", which shifts unexpectedly from a slow, bluesy, Dead-style intro to a fiery Spanish cooker; and "Jet Stream", which closes the album with Edwards’ catchy chorus of "sail on down the jet stream".

Edwards plays his acoustic guitar confidently throughout the album, alternating blues-rock riffs with soft, fingerstyle pieces, and jazzy, progressive pop flourishes. The production and arrangements by Edwards and Rich Dixon (Enoch Train) are stellar and inventive, and generally the accompaniment is solid and accomplished, particularly the electric guitar work of Dixon.

The singing voice and vocal phrasing of David Edwards could elicit an article of its own. To some, it may be an acquired taste, but like the voices of Tom Petty, Neil Young, Gord Downie (Tragically Hip), and others, it is nonetheless truly unique, and the perfect companion for the music it is traveling with. And like Gord Downie, Edwards’ voice sometimes wavers in and out and around what would be considered the actual note, but yet works perfectly within the song, and does not cause any sense of dissonance. This may not win him many fans among opera elitists or snooty voice teachers, but for Edwards’ blend of folk pop/rock, it’s a nice fit, and well worth acquiring a taste for.

After several listens now, the treasures of this album are still revealing themselves to me. Nuances of the arrangements are becoming more noticeable, and hooks and melodies of certain songs, that seemed so timid and innocuous at first, have been slyly wrapping themselves around me, like a snake around its prey. David has a strong and unique voice in modern music, and if you pick up this album, I encourage you to give that voice a full chance. Try it out for 30 days!

Eric Endres is an LDS musician/songwriter from Buffalo, NY.
His music can be heard at http://www.mp3.com/ericendres