| THERE'S A MOMENT - RODGER BRUNNING (2003) |
| CD REVIEW |
 |
| TO RETURN TO THE CD REVIEW INDEX, |
| This long-awaited follow-up to Rodger Brunning's 2000 offering, Scintilla, is further proof of his seemingly effortless brilliance for writing delightfully catchy songs that encompass a variety of folk, country, blues and rock'n'roll influences. In addition, his collaborations with Darrin Schott and Rick Rose were among my favourites here. Just as I previously referred to Scintilla as a country-rock CD (thereby unfairly limiting its appeal), There's a Moment also contains strong elements in this vein but varies enough that it can't really be nailed down as such. For the most part, though, there is nothing aggressive enough to be considered "hard" rock. "Crank" would definitely qualify as a Beatles/Jerry Lee Lewis/Chuck Berry-influenced rock'n'roller, and that's about as raunchy as it gets, but "Too Many Things" also brings Tom Petty or John Mellencamp to mind. The more enticing tracks were the steel/slide guitar country-blues of "Resum�" (impressively opening the CD) and the more upbeat "Little Dreams", both of which sounded heavily influenced by Roy Orbison or Chris Isaak in the guitar work, "Too Many Things", "School", and the exotically romantic "Come With Me", complete with string section and keyboards. Speaking of keyboards, there is a wonderful little honky-tonk ditty called "Sweet Mary" featuring the cushy strains of a B-3. Among the host of accomplished musical instrumentalists and vocalists enhancing Mr. Brunning's guitar work and vocals, a mandolin is featured on "Wherever I Go", and a dobro on the folky title track, which song I found personally difficult to listen to. I've wracked my brain trying to figure out why, to no avail - maybe it's just too emotionally revealing. The snappy skip-hop marching beat of "Talking to Cats" would appear to address, in the bittersweet nature of nostalgia, the personal tragic loss of Matty Joe Brunning, who died at the age of 21, and to whom There's a Moment is dedicated. However, Matt himself is listed as one of the co-writers of the song, so there's a mystery. In fact, an obviously nervous but determined Matt was recorded humming and strumming an acoustic guitar on the last song, "Matt's Piece". I couldn't quite make out the spoken-word intro. Although, I personally found it heart-breaking to listen to, I can understand completely the value it would hold for his family. There's a Moment actually has several moments of instant compatibility, making it worthy of repeat plays - another example of under-exposed musicianship hailing from the Southern Ontario region. |
 |