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Brian Williams : Wide Awake Day (UK,2007)***°
From years ago, somewhere around 1997 or so, when I searched for my show for singer-songwriter demos from the UK, I still remembered a Brian Williams tape, and especially his song 'Wise Men Would Say' which also vaguely inspired me. It was a song which now has been put aside for a few reasons.
Just recently he contacted me again saying he recorded a real album, and remembered how I had send an encouraging letter. It is of course fine to hear how he continued his approach to release an honest collection of songs.
Some songs, like “Baby I’m on my way” are rather direct and simple and are in this particular way attractive. The directness in some songs are sometimes a bit like an inner child that wonders and wishes for all people and actions to be good, I think is another way to communicate more directly with these songs, in a language which I think will be adapted easily to more direct understandings of opposite relations, as well as by people who care for friendships and prefer them to be kept simple and pure. They can be descriptive on how people are, and show the environment and context (of in the UK a nearby sea as a backgroud for it, with its own events and associations).
Other, very personal, deeper and poetic songs like the brilliant “Fear of love” have a different kind of attraction, with their own beauty.
The fingerpicking guitar playing is double layered, like on “Silver Dollar”. This makes the songs attractive. Additionally, Brian's voice has warm qualities.
The song, “Elena la Buena” is a bit lighter, and is an up tempo sing-a-long and happy song that could work well on live occasions. The title track, "Wide Awake Day", also features some sweet feminine "acid folk" flute, and some fine vocal arrangements, while the last song also features some melancholic harmonica.
A fine and enjoyable collection of songs with its own distinctive view and personality.
