It is difficult as a reviewer to review two CD's by the same artist in a
short period of time. There is always the tendency to compare the two instead
of reviewing each CD on it's own merits. Luckily I consume enough beer that I
could probably review the same CD back to back and not recognize the
similarities. (Just kidding.) Anyway, point being, hot off the heels of
reviewing the Michael Tomlinson acoustic CD, "Watching The Storm Roll In," I
have the pleasure of reviewing him with full backing on his CD "Trace the
Sky."
"Trace the Sky" finds the singer/songwriter playing with a full band
behind him. It opens with the upbeat "Choices," a song that basically echoes
the sentiment that life is what we make it. Luckily, my subtitle for the
song, "Predestination, take a vacation" was rejected. It is followed by the
sax-tinged "The Big Secret," that has a decidedly light jazz feel to it.
Things slow down again for the title track, "Trace the Sky." Lazy drums
and guitar provide the backing for the vocals, which take definite center
stage on this song. One of my favorite things about Mr. Tomlinson is his
ability to paint images with his words and this is illustrated very well in
this song with lyrics like "Oh then the sun bursts out like diamonds to
relieve this ache within. I'm walking on in this dazzling dawn all hopeful
again."
Three of the songs on this CD, "Blink of an Eye," "Desert Rose," and
"Write Me a Letter," are also featured in an acoustic form on "When the Storm
Rolls In," and it is very interesting to hear them in their original
versions. For example, the lead guitar in "Blink of an Eye" has definite
shadings of the blues and in fact reminds me of a "Summer Breeze" type song
penned from someone raised on Beale Street.
Even at his full-blown best, Tomlinson's music is not the kind you are
going to wake your neighbors with. However, he is a very capable singer/songwr
iter and more importantly storyteller. The closest he comes to a straight
solo acoustic on this album is also where he comes up with my favorite lyric.
The song is "Already Miss," and in that he sings "When the summer sun melts
us both into one and I fall into your hungry kiss like a man that cannot help
myself, and before we are through I already miss your lips."
Fans of James Taylor, Bruce Cockburn, and Dan Fogleberg would do well
to check this CD out. It is also great for those who are tired of
angst-ridden why me songs from people who wonder why their lives are so awful
after they've just signed multi-million dollar recording contracts. I have to
like Mr. Tomlinson's music also. He is the first person I've heard use the
word 'incommunicado' in a song since my man Jimmy Buffett wrote a song with
that title.
