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Heyman is one of those relatively obscure recording artists that I had heard of, but had never actually listened to before. But my curiosity was whet recently after reading a glowing review of his newest album on the Burning Wood blog. Rather than get the new CD, I opted for this older title. Good choice. No, great choice! This CD is absolutely packed with tuneful songs, pop gems that cry out to be heard. About 70 minutes of music, and it's all very impressive.
After reading the liner notes (written by respected rock journalist Parke Puterbaugh) I discovered that these are all older songs that Heyman had written, dating back to the early 1980s, but oned that he re-recorded for the purposes of this new CD in 2007. This is what Puterbaugh said about these songs:
"Had this clutch of material from Heyman's back pages been released back in the early 80s, it would have filled a double album's worth of vinyl and critics would've likely heralded it as a pop masterwork along the lines of Todd Rundgren's 'Something/Anything'. But the belated issuing of these 20 sterling tunes makes 'Actual Sighs' no less remarkable --- and maybe even more so, given the superlative musicality and commitment it took for Heyman to bring this mammoth project to fruition in 2007."
Puterbaugh goes on to call Heyman "America's pre-eminent popmeister," which is high praise indeed. And after hearing this terrific collection of songs, I'm inclined to agree. This really is a pop masterpiece. In other reviews, I hear lots of names being thrown around for comparison, everyone from Graham Parker and Elvis Costello to Rundgren and XTC. Honestly, I don't think Heyman sounds like any of those artists, but if you are a fan of those people, or like classic 80s alternative and pop-rock and melodic new wave sounds, Heyman's songs should appeal to you too. Sheer pop majesty, but with a gritty rock underbelly.
Next plan; I need to order more of this man's CDs. I'm hooked.
他の国からのトップレビュー
Donald E. Gilliland
Pop Masterpieces
2013年11月21日にアメリカ合衆国でレビュー済みAmazonで購入
