Blue-eyed soul
Bryan Duncan uplifts beat, spirit on new
CD
By TOM ROLAND
You probably couldn't come up with a more appropriate title for
Bryan Duncan's album, Blue Skies. With few exceptions, Duncan
proffers bright, cheery textures and uplifting viewpoints on this new
collection.
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Blue Skies is more cheery and more uplifting at
the open -- Duncan seems to have front-loaded most of the
best songs -- but the upbeat feeling generally reamins
through the end, despite some plodding stuff in the
back-half of the album. You'll also find a surprise dark
reprise of "Dying to Meet You" at the close of the CD.
Duncan's vocal gift is impressive. He possesses a
blue-eyed soul that works in 1960s' Stax-style incarnations
and 1980s-tinged pop, occasionally playing with sweet
falsetto shadings that increase his range.
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Blue Skies toys with a number of upbeat sounds. The harmonies
on "One Touch Away" suggest the Little River Band, the opening chord
progression of "After This Day is Gone" is lifted squarely from Tears
For Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", and the seductive mix
of a moderate R&B groove and jazzy chord progression in the title
track make Duncan mindful of singer Robbie Nevil. The latter song is
an absolutely infectious piece of work that belongs on WLAC-FM (Star
106), no questions asked.
There are some problems with Blue Skies. The ballads all
run about a minute too long-- they're not quite strong enough as
songs to warrant five-minute versions -- and most of the slow stuff
ends up dull and uninspiring.
Yet, the bulk of the album is as refreshing as a blue sky in
January.
