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/ Reviews

Review: Gerry Beckley, "Carousel"

September 16, 2016 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Gerry BecklBUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COM

Gerry Beckley celebrated his 64th birthday earlier this week, on Monday, September 12.  We're marking the occasion with a look at his new studio album!

One hardly expects the first verse of the first song on a new album from America's resident romantic troubadour, Gerry Beckley, to include the lines "Everything's turned to shit/No matter how I look at it/And I am running out of time..." But while Beckley is happily defying convention on "Tokyo" - the taut, rocking opening cut of his new album Carousel on Blue Elan Records (and also its first single) - he's very much in his element throughout this strong collection of melodic, attractive original songs and well-chosen covers encompassing both rockers and ballads alike.

Carousel plays like a song suite, with the notion of time very much on the singer-songwriter's mind.  The pop hooks may not flow as abundantly as in the AM radio days of yore, but the resulting melodies and lyrics - all meticulously sequenced for a total album experience - grow richer with repeated listens.  "Time, precious time slips away in the distance/I walk the line, 'til I fade from existence," the artist confesses in the tense, brooding "Minutes Count."  As on "Tokyo," however, the bleakness is leavened by the heart of a romantic hoping to make things work once more.  The same goes for "Lifeline" - a soaring, textured production featuring Beatle-esque background vocals and horns (trombone and saxophone) straight out of Chicago's "Saturday in the Park" - and "Fly" ("Everything is fading fast/Now your time has come and passed/Guess we knew this couldn't last...").  Jeffrey Foskett supplies the subtle backing vocals on "Fly" as well as on "Tokyo."

Dan Wilson co-wrote the attractive, low-key "No Way I'm Gonna Lose You," blending the romantic longing of Beckley's finest songs with a note of vulnerability and even desperation.  The shimmering "Once a Distant Heart" reflects on a relationship and its turns, as does the catchy, uptempo yet still moody "Serious."  The most atypical track on Carousel is the brief, Appalachian-folk-styled "Widows Weeds," which sounds as if it's been beamed from an old radio, out of time, but perhaps the most affecting is the title song.  The introspective ballad "Carousel" is led by Beckley on piano, lending a stately air of gravitas that brings his poignant vocal into deep focus.

Three covers blend seamlessly with the original material.  Beckley doesn't attempt to reinvent Spirit's mantra-like "Nature's Way" but brings a note of grace and calm to his modernized update.  Gerry (Marsden) and the Pacemakers' beautifully wistful "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" proves a perfect match for Beckley's warm lead, complemented by Jeff Larson's background vocals. Oboe and euphonium add requisite touches of class to the song originally produced in 1964 by the late George Martin.  Having already surveyed Mr. Marsden, Beckley turns to a third Gerry - the late Mr. Rafferty of "Baker Street" and Stealers Wheel fame - for "To Each and Everyone," adorned with rich harmonies and a baroque rock feel that also harkens back to classic America.

The multi-instrumentalist Beckley, who self-produced Carousel, is surrounded by a tight group of remarkably sympathetic musicians including Foskett, executive producer Larson, son Matt Beckley (guitar), Nick Lane (euphonium, trombone), Larry Klimas (tenor and baritone saxophones), Charles Adelphia (oboe), Jeffrey Parish (organ), Ryland Steen (drums) and Dave Raven (drums).  The production is clean and modern throughout without feeling sterile.

Carousel is the work of a mature singer-songwriter who still has a great deal to say about life, love and mortality.  May Gerry Beckley continue to spin 'round his carousel with his great gift of song.

You can order Carousel at Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada !

Categories: Reviews Formats: CD Genre: Pop, Rock Tags: America, Gerry Beckley

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Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song and beyond, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with labels including Real Gone Music and Cherry Red Records, has released newly-curated collections produced and annotated by Joe from iconic artists such as Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Liza Minnelli, Darlene Love, Al Stewart, Michael Nesmith, and many others. Joe has written liner notes, produced, or contributed to over 200 reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them America, JD Souther, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, BJ Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, Petula Clark, Robert Goulet, and Andy Williams. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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