This latest CD from American singer songwriter TREVOR HALL follows on from his 2009 self-titled album. There is a mixture of styles that has gone into this melting pot of an album, from reggae and calypso, through to rock, pop and hip-hop. Some work far better than others, but what is certain is that Trevor can add some soul searching, heartfelt lyrics to the melodies, which pulls this album through handsomely enough.
Trevor has spent time in India, and supports the Baal Dan charity which deals with building schools, orphanages and assists in feeding children in India. This has allowed some Eastern influences to filter into his music and writing. Even the lyric booklet that comes with the CD is dedicated to the memory of the late priest Sri Haradhan Chakraborty. So far so good, but what’s the CD actually like?
Opening with ‘introduction’, a short spoken word piece that plays out against a background of street noise that was recorded by Trevor at Belur Bazar in India in 2009. The lyric itself verges on the uplifting: - “The wings of my soul take me to the palace. Back to my eternal home.”
Following this, the album opens properly with ‘the return’(all the titles are in lower case - Ed) an easy going laid back reggae/calypso vibe with some nice guitar and excellent harmonies. The lyrics are both touching in their simplicity and directness, whilst at the same time painting a vivid picture: -
“Mama, I can hear you calling through the storm/ I can hear you even though my heart is torn/ I know I have done you wrong; I’ve been away for far too long/ Mama I return. Return to your arms.”
After this, there is a complete change of tack. ‘brand new day’ comes across as an all American rock song with lyrics delivered in a rap style: - “I know, you know, we live, we seek/ We’re running to the rhythm and the rhythm don’t sleep/ Cook up the mixture, tell all the listeners, this is the sound. We’ve come to lift you.”
As I stated earlier, some tracks on this album work better than others, and I found some of the hip-hop stylings jarred considerably. Far better were the reggae based melodies which were designed to be easy on the ear and allow you to listen to this and mellow out. Tracks of this nature, like ‘different hunger’ come across really well. Opening with the lo-fi sound as if it were recorded in a toilet, this morphs into a lovely groove, with some excellent horns and harmonies. The lyrics seem to concentrate on the need to search for a degree of contentment, a meaning to hum-drum life, and how logic alone is not the answer: - “Searching for pleasure but we only find pain/ Not living in our hearts, only living in our brain.”
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‘dr. seuss’ is probably the only rap style track that really works. The reason for this is that I’ve always thought that the works of the great Dr. Seuss suit rap perfectly. Using some lines from the Dr. allows this song to have perfect metre: -
“One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish/ Black fish, blue fish, old fish, new fish.”
‘good rain’ is another easy reggae song, the perfect track to lighten the mind, and bring a smile to the face. The real surprise was the ‘hidden’ track at the end of the CD. Four minutes after ‘the mountain’ finishes, you suddenly get a further ten minutes of Indian sounds and chants, that comes in suddenly, and will scare anyone who starts to go to sleep with the headphones on after a trip to the pub!
So, ‘everything everytime everywhere’, is it any good? Definitely in places. I’d have preferred it if Trevor had stuck to the reggae groove as that seems to be his forte, but all credit to him for trying something new and succeeding in bringing us with him for the most part.
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