Danny Schmidt - Instead the Forest Rose to Sing

Most records coming from Red House records in St. Paul MN fit into the earnest folksy singer songwriter mold and frankly Danny Schmidt is yet another in this long, long line. His voice is unremarkable and the songs sadly predictable. There is nothing terribly bad about this record it’s just the bland sameness that is numbing. Songs like Grandpa Built Bridges and Oh Bally Ho left me sleepy and bored. Schmidt manages to lower the bar rather than raise it. Take a pass.

Comments

Esther said…
Wow - weird to stumble on a negative review of Danny's music. Especially weird to hear you call it boring and predictable. Music preferences ultimately come down to personal taste. Danny is revered by many as an amazing, insightful, beautiful poet-singer. You definitely won't 'get it' if you are not the kind of listener who values lyrics - their meaning and their sound as music in and of themselves. I guess if you're just listening to the melodies - yes - it's Americana - and similar to lots of other stuff. So I'll assume that's what you meant. You certainly couldn't have delved into the words themselves and come out with the conclusion boring and predictable! If so - we have very different perceptions of the English language indeed. To those who read the review above, I'd say that if you love complex, unusual, meaningful lyrics, don't bypass this CD at all!
July 16, 2009 at 12:27 AM
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