Palmetto Records #PM2010. 13 Tracks. Total time: 53:04. Released 1994. Available from Palmetto Records 212-673-9394. Overall Rating: ** 1/2 out of ***** (Average disk that will certainly get occasional play from me).
Sound-wise, Gabriel Dorman is a male Tracy Chapman. It's amazing to hear him on songs like "Walkin the Devil." A change in album art, and this could be a Chapman album.
Primarily, the album is a grouping of acoustic songs with Gabriel on vocals and guitar. Lyrics are enigmatic: they appear to be religious, but what they say (or mean to communicate) is often unclear.
High points are the slow songs such as "Fits of Madness" and "I Came Dancing" where excellent singing and musicianship stand out and where Gabriel's voice isn't so much a Tracy Chapman.
The title track is intriguing. Strangely rhythmic, the lines are difficult to follow without the liner notes. It is perhaps one of the best tracks on the disk in terms of its music.
"Salome" mixes the story of Salome and John the Baptist with other imagery, failing once again to be clearly a Bible story yet not being clear enough metaphorically to point to other interpretations. Perhaps to some this is a strength of Dorman's writing--its ambiguity, but for me it is disturbing. Mixing strangely powerful images with apparent nonsense is difficult for me to take. Incongruous images work when the listener can find the connections or can create a connection for himself. Otherwise, the result is an unpalatable mixture of nonsense and sense. For me, this is a weakness in much of Dorman's lyrical writing.
"Faith" is the album's last full track, a song with an engaging instrumental track. Here the electric guitar peeks out occasionally from the acoustic work. Unfortunately, the vocal sounds much like the rest of the album.
If you're a fan of Tracy Chapman and similar music, you will find this album generally pleasing. For me, the music is pleasing enough, but the lyrics cause me some distress. Whether this is intentional on the part of Dorman is perhaps beside the point. Vocally, the album is monotonous. If all the songs are going to sound almost the same, why not reduce the price and give us a two or three track disk.
Overall rating: ***
0 *'s Peeyew!
* Makes a good coaster.
** Fair attempt at something resembling music.
*** Certainly to be played more than once.
**** Will get put on a regular rotation for my CD player.
***** The world would halt if this disk didn't exist.
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Review Copyright © 1996 Leslie Carl Seiler. All rights reserved. Reviewed 6 May 1996. Page updated 20 September 1998. Errors corrected 22 Sep 1998.