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| IT'S YESTERDAY ONCE MORE - BUZZ THOMPSON AND THE HONEYBEES |
| Brian (Buzz) Thompson has left behind his days with the Hawks for quite a while now, but his prowess as both a guitarist and powerhouse vocalist (as evidenced even more clearly on his d�but solo CD, Find Out For Yourself, is still intact. He has continued his friendship with the Hawkins family, and, in fact, Ronnie�s son, Robin, spontaneously recorded these songs during a four-day visit with Buzz and his wife, Jeanne. The soulful opening title track (written by Jeanne the day after the World Trade Centre tragedy) is addressed to those survivors or surviving family members, offering guidance for the future while openly encouraging the grieving process. Just as John Lennon preached that, in order to heal, �you must feel your own pain�, Jeanne counsels to �look and see �til your eyes get sore� and then �put some faith back in the sky, go right on and give hope a try�. Introduced by Brent Bailey on celestial organ, it�s delivered very powerfully, via Buzz�s mournful slide guitar and emotive vocals. Indeed, most of these heartfelt songs offer messages of hope, optimism and defiant determination (�See and Feel�), offset by a �let loose� attitude, especially on �Boogie Shoes� and �Waitin�s Killin� Time, that the burdens we carry don�t have to rule our lives. Most of the lyrics were composed by Jeanne, a seemingly optimistic and idealistic woman, who sings solo and in tandem with Buzz on this recording. She has a natural and charming simplicity in her vocal approach, which is a welcome change from today�s divas. Her creed is made clear on the memorably catchy calypso ballad, �The Other Side of Zero�, where she states that �I don�t wanna to be no saviour, no goddess, no hero, I just want to spend some time on the other side of zero� (Right on, sister!) The gospel sound of �Love�s Gate� is a bit too mushy and �over the top�, and �Bringers of the Dawn�, reflecting on the perceptions of our youth, sabotages itself trying to prove, unnecessarily, that Buzz has not lost his top range. While he can belt out higher notes than many female singers, the one-word (�fly�) chorus sounds strained and squeaky here. Buzz makes his philosophical stand on the �People Got to be Free� (The Rascals) theme, with the R&B-fused rocker, �See and Feel� - �Well, I�m getting out there, I�m strutting my stuff; it�s been a while comin�, but I�ve had enough.� It�s good advice for anyone who has allowed outsiders to interfere with the pursuit of one�s own dreams and desires. There is a wide variety of genres here, ranging from pure gospel (�Love�s Gate�) and country (�Don�t Withdraw Your Love�), cleverly composed by Buzz and featuring Barry Haggarty on lead guitar, to straight-ahead blues-rock (�Out There�). My favourite tracks are �You Have to Be to Become�, a song The Band would probably have felt comfortable performing themselves, and �Dragonfly Heaven�, a very pleasant, dreamily enticing, mid-tempo South American ballad vocalized by Jeanne. It�s much too short, though, at less than three minutes, and would have sounded great with the addition of a classical guitar. The best, and most surprising track, however, closes the CD. It�s called �Life on the Fly� and is described in the liner notes as �Cowboy Metal Funk Rap�. I liken this track, co-written by Buzz, Jeanne and Terena Shaw, to a cross between Isaac�s Hayes� �Theme from Shaft� and Blondie�s revolutionary �Rapture�. Robin Hawkins makes a guest appearance on lead and rhythm guitar on this groove-filled track. The sweetly-gelling Honeybees are comprised of Buzz on lead, rhythm and slide guitars, as well as harmonica, Jeanne on vocals, Brent Bailey on keyboards, J.P. Hovercraft on bass and Doug Hewie on drums. There is no attempt for any one player to outdo the other and that's how it should be. A good songwriter, in my mind, is one who can encompass the heartaches of the past, reconcile them in the present and still inspire hope for a better future. Well done, folks, and not to worry - I won't ever forget to boogie! Visit the Thompsons yourself on the Internet at www.BuzzThompson.ca, where you'll see and hear an excellent video recording of "It's Yesterday Once More". |
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