'The Other Side' is Ottawa-based singer songwriter DREW NELSON'S first album in eight years, having grown tired of constant touring and focusing on his domestic life. Well, I for one am glad that Drew decided to revitalise his career, as this album has some great tracks on it.
Drew has been one of Canada's best kept secrets, having grown up on rock 'n' roll and the blues, and having shared the stage with B.B. King, Bo Diddley, and many others. This album, coming after the death of Drew's father, mixes eleven songs of both heartache and love. During the course of the album, Drew does tend to play around with styles, from the blasting Chicago styled blues to more reflective countrified songs. The majority of the songs are Drew's originals, but he still manages to throw in some nifty cover versions, one of Bob Dylan's 'Seven Days', beefing the song up into a bluesy anthem, the other cover being that of Leonard Cohen's 'Bird On The Wire' which originally appeared on 1969's 'Songs From A Room'.
Drew's originals vary, from the Slide guitar riffing of 'Make It Right', to the absolutely excellent 'One More Chance', a Chicago blues that features some low down and dirty guitar, and some excellent harmonica courtesy of Steve Marriner, the front man from the trio Monkey Junk. This was definitely the best track on the album, and one that stands up with the best of them.
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Things slip a bit on 'Stick Around', with its reggae vibe, which doesn't suit the mood of the rest of the album, so consequently sticks out, but this is more than redeemed by the rock 'n' roll fury of 'Get It!'.
The album closes with the title track 'The Other Side', a slower, reflective number musing on life and death, a song which manages to grip the listener and one that does leave an impression. The lyrics are heartfelt and never fall into overt sentimentality: - “How's it going on the other side? Is it peaceful there?"
Drew's eight years out of the limelight has dragged on far too long but this album certainly makes up for it. Worth the wait? Hell yes! The album is available from Amazon, iTunes and CDBaby and is certainly worth the investment.
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