Track-by-Track Review of
‘Call For A Second’ by Richard Kaye
Student journalist, DJ and friend, Chris Goymer, has kindly taken the time out to write this comprehensive review of my album. Ever since I started recording, he has always listened with open ears, and provided useful feedback - much appreciated, cheers mate! (Love the way he refers to me as "Kaye" - sounds like a pro!)
Click here to download the tracks from the album
The Calling
An upbeat and bright track which owing to its lyrics, is deeper than the music may first of all suggest. I love the rhythmic interplay between guitar, bass & drums during the chorus (“Far away there is a people…etc.”), and it also has one of the best guitar solo’s on the album. It’s also clear that Kaye’s voice is much stronger and comfortable than on the last album. Great opening track.
Best bit- (1:37): “The most distant signal calling you…” and Kaye’s voice is suddenly transported to a most distant place before zooming back for, “They’re calling you.”
After such an accomplished and clever opening track as ‘The Calling’, the second song is a bit of a disappointment. Apart from the fact that it rips ‘Penny Lane’ off (which I could happily forgive), for my liking it plods along too much and lacks any real dynamics. Shame, as it has a nice melody and good harmonies. Probably my least favourite track on the whole album.
Best bit- (1:58) &
(3:45): The guitar twists and turns, suggesting there’s a more psychedelic and
adventurous side hidden beneath the conservative exterior of the song.
Keep Yourself
Just
like with ‘The Calling’, the quality of the album once again shoots through
the roof and the stakes are raised with the playing of track three. Probably not
one of the most original tracks music-wise on the album, but it’s one of the
most well written songs on either album. Excellent melody with a great chorus,
and superb lyrics which are obviously very personal. Again, Kaye’s voice has
never sounded better. I can’t
quite pinpoint what it is that makes me love this song quite so much, but it
just works so well.
Best bit- (2:46): The resigned and weary tones of “So keep yourself but not for me” before a final repeat of the chorus, offering a more optimistic call of “Keep yourself always stick to what you believe…”
Put Up A Fight
Deviating
away from the normal ‘sound’ of himself, this is more original than most of
the other tracks and consequently it is one of the highlights of the album. A
piano led song which lyrically is unlike any of the other tracks: ditching the
first person narrative to tell a story of “one who stands up for what she’s
really done.” The instruments and tension build up with each new verse, but
cleverly we never quite reach the climax the listener expects.
Best bit- (1:17): The first hearing of “No longer scared…” in the chorus, when the raising chord excellently reflects the raising tension.
Field Of Love
A
visibly dated track music-wise, which heavily draws on the Rock n’ Roll of the
50’s/60’s. Nice contrasts between the manic choruses and the more controlled
verses. Very tight musically, and excellent uses of vocals to create a dense
sound. Some of the best drumming on the album. No real feelings either way
overall about this track though.
Best bit- (1:26): Great harmonica instrumental break interspersed with the excited calls of “Field of love!”
I’ve Got Time
Brilliant
piece of album sequencing to follow the crazy ‘Field Of Love’ with a
complete opposite. This track’s brilliance stems from the pure simplicity of
it, with the sound stripped down to just vocals and a lone guitar. This coupled
with a superb melody, reflects the tone of the song perfectly. With some of the
best lyrics on the album, this is a tale of putting a brave face on things. A
weary acceptance of a situation with desperate attempts to cling to optimism-
when he sings, “It’s OK ‘cause I’ve got plenty of time,” you perfectly
well know that it’s not OK in the slightest. Clever lines (“The breeze that
was my teens is blowing through trees”) and real despair (“The point to my
life is going blunt”) are offset with humour (“It’s OK ‘cause my mum
said I’ve got plenty of time”) and hope (“I know never to lose sight when
things aren’t going right”). This is emotions laid out bare, and
consequently one almost feels they are trespassing. My favourite song on the
album because it’s so honest.
Best bit- (1:05) & (2:58): Every time we return to the gentle refrain of “ I’m all alone tonight…” after the raising desperation.
Think Before You Speak
Opens
with some nice chord changes, before setting into a mid-tempo track with some
nice dynamics. Not too dissimilar in my mind to a slower ‘Field Of Love’.
Nice change of style halfway through (“Sometimes you act instinctively…”).
As you can tell from my frequent use of ‘nice’, this is another track that
brings out no real feelings.
Best bit- (2:15): The music begins to hush, the guitar wanders around, the song draws to a counterfeit close…before steaming back into the verses.
Special Day
As
on the first album with ‘Tomorrow’s Another Day’, Kaye has taken an
original Hebrew tune and set his own lyrics to it. And like on the first album,
he has produced another highlight of the album. Begins with an excellent
leisurely piano introduction, before changing tempo completely for a celebratory
and joyous time. The multi-tracked vocals are used for great effect on this
track, which contains so many ideas in a short time. Oozes joy and celebration
from every pore.
Best bit- (0:01): The piano arpeggios and delicate backing gently welcome the beginning of a very special day.
What If?
The
penultimate track on the album is the final great track of it. This is a sequel
to ‘Keep Yourself’- the speculation and questioning after the difficult
goodbye. Over a minimal backing, Kaye outpours the questions that haunt his
every move, “What if I should never have left?…What if I live to
regret?…What if things could have been alright?” This is the sound of a soul
haunted by the mistakes he may have made. A perfectly executed guitar break then
heralds the beginning of a true climax to the song. Like ‘Keep Yourself’, a
track whose strength lies in the quality of the song writing.
Best bit- (3:44): A one man choir agonises over the universal questions, before a lone voice heartbreakingly asks “(What if things)…could have been alright?”
Home Life, Uni Life
The
final track is the most light-hearted song on the album, and hence is a suitable
album closer. With a raw and ‘live’ feel to it, this is musically unoriginal
but has an inescapable charm to it. With a contagious rhythm running through its
veins, all seems well as we’re told, “Well it’s 13 O’clock and I’m
ready to rock…it ain’t very far till I’ll be home to you.” And so the
amps are turned off, the guitar put down and the album finishes on a most
positive vibe- “I’m going home tonight.”
Best bit- (4:30): Out from nowhere a deep bass voice chants “Home life, Uni life” before “Take me home daddio.” Raises a smile every time!
Click here to download tracks from this album
By
Christopher
Goymer
22nd September 2001