Blue Murle's premier CD not the best around
Mishael Devlin
Issue date: 4/22/05 Section: Entertainment
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There is only one commendable aspect that is consistent throughout the album, and that's the fact that it is technically proficient. But this is obvious because somebody thought the album was good enough to back it with money. Other than that, there are only a handful of genuinely ear-grabbing moments on the album. "Boxcar Racer" conjures up an intriguing image with the lyrics "I'm walking the streets / with my hands in my shoes."
"Part of Your History" has music that moves despite the fact that it's slow, like almost all of the songs on the album are. "Seeing Through You" and "Either Way it Goes" both stand out because of the Latin flavor of the music, which breaks up the otherwise uniform blandness of the album.
From the very first track, which is the title track, it becomes evident that the album is virtually a sleeping pill meant to be taken aurally. Much of the music is unimaginative. Also, Luke Reynolds, Blue Merle's lead singer, has a voice that is a chore to hear. For the most part, he sounds like he is doing a bad Adam Duritz impression. On some songs, like "If I Could," Reynolds likes to go into his falsetto range. Unfortunately, his transition into that range is not good, so he winds up sounding like a howling dog. On other songs, like "Lucky to Know You," he occasionally lets his voice drop. At this other extreme, his voice just creaks.
In addition to being Blue Merle's lead singer, Reynolds is also the band's principal songwriter. This is tragic, because he is as awkward a songwriter as he is a singer. A few songs into the album, it becomes obvious that he is especially fond of the word "around" and all words that rhyme with "around."
Reynolds also has a writing tendency that I appreciate when it is done sparingly and well. He has the tendency to end a song by either repeating part of the first verse or the entire first verse. Sometimes, for variety, he combines this repetition of the first verse with a repetition of part of another verse. Reynolds abuses this technique by using it so often on the album. It becomes a neon sign flashing "I ran out of meaningful things to say."
I have never understood the idea of using ships as metaphors for relationships. Reynolds uses this metaphor in two songs, first in "If I Could" and again in "Every Ship Must Sail Away." If a guy wrote a song about me and it had ship metaphors, I would be insulted. What was he trying to say? Am I junk? A shipwreck?
Reynolds' greatest offense against song writing is "Made to Run." This song thematically plagiarizes "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen. The biggest difference is that Reynolds' song lacks the urgency that makes "Born to Run" so gripping. I hope the band members of Blue Merle were not thinking of themselves as "updating" the song. If so, they failed miserably.
Burning in the Sun by Blue Merle has been scorched by dry vocals, lackluster music, and shoddy song writing. It's a shame the album had not really been allowed to sit out in the sun and get burned. Then, it would be too damaged to be played, so no one would have to hear it.
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