After a long week I’m
looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Let’s get that started with a music
review, shall we?
Disc 1346 is…If I’ve
Only One Time Askin’
Artist:
Dan Romano
Year of Release: 2015
What’s up with the
Cover?
Dan Romano has a cigarette. If I only had one time askin’, I would ask what’s
out of frame that’s earned his side-eyed glance.
How I Came to Know
It: I saw Romano open for Corb
Lund a few years ago. I liked what I heard and that – coupled with a
recommendation from a coworker – got me into his music. This particular
purchase was just me digging through his collection.
How It Stacks Up: I have four Daniel
Romano albums. I got rid of “Modern Pressure” after I reviewed it and “Finally
Free” couldn’t hold my attention long enough for even that (more on that later).
Of the four remaining albums, “If I’ve Only One Time Askin’” comes in at #2,
edging out “Come Cry With Me” which had been occupying that spot.
Since this is the last of my Daniel Romano album to be reviewed, here’s
the recap:
- Sleep Beneath the Willow: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 1132)
- If I’ve Only One Time Askin’: 4 stars (reviewed right here)
- Come Cry With Me: 4 stars (reviewed
at Disc 919)
- Mosey: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 953)
- Modern Pressure: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 1030)
Ratings: 4 stars
Daniel Romano is one of those artists who does
what he wants with his sound. Audiences can follow along if they like, but Dan’s
gonna do what Dan’s gonna do. It’s fitting that the last album Romano put out
before he would go down some weird and (for me) not-so wonderful roads, would be
a straightforward and traditional collection of old school country break-up
songs. Because after this record, he and
I would part ways as well. At least it ended with a bang…
This record is an homage to seventies and
eighties country crooners like George Jones and George Strait; filled with
slow, mournful songs of lost loves and a whole lot of pedal steel.
I love that sound, and Romano breezily
composes songs that could easily be slipped back in time forty or fifty years
and fit right in. He writes in a timeless style, and while these melodies sound
like something you’ve heard a thousand times before, you haven’t heard them
quite like this.
Songs of that era relied heavily on a turn of
phrase, and Romano is up to the task. On “Strange Faces” he sings:
“If I had a room to breathe in, if
I had a burning fire
One would surely choke the other,
leaving me the same desire.
There’s no bottle left half
empty, there’s no sun can frame my door
If I sailed away forever, never
would I find the shore.”
It is all very overblown, but that’s how this
music works. Besides, just because it is hyperbolic doesn’t mean this isn’t
some great imagery. Romano sells it with a partial nasal twang, where you can tell
he’s channeling old school Nashville but can’t change the fact that he’s from
Ontario. I like the mix and think it helps to create a modern tension to the traditional
forms he’s exploring.
Most of all, Romano manages something he loses
a bit on later records; he’s emotionally believable. This record is full of a
whole lot of hurt and heartache, but it comes across as real. There are songs
where he goes a bit too far with the melancholic metaphor - “If You Go Your
Way (I’ll Go Blind)” being the worst offender – but for the most part you
feel the sadness, and a general sense that you should put your hand over your
heart and look skyward, or something.
While it is mostly pedal steel sadness, Romano
also explores other styles from yesteryear, including some Gordon Lightfoot
styled pattern picking on the title track, and more than a hint of Townes Van
Zandt on “Strange Faces”.
The last minute or so of “The One That Got
Away (Came Back Today)” is a harbinger of the ridiculousness that would
come on future records, but on the other tracks Romano plays it straight up and
the record feels more like an earnest homage to those that came before him,
rather than a send-up.
I’ve been a bit cranky with Daniel Romano’s
musical choices of late. I found 2017’s “Modern Pressure” weighed down by its
own self-absorption and I disliked 2018’s “Finally Free” so much I decided to
skip going to a show I already had tickets for. It’s fair to say Romano has moved
on without me, leaving me to pine for the way things used to be…
Despite all that bad blood, “If I’ve Only…”
won my heart back with all that heartache, and reminded me why I have five of
this guy’s records. When he’s good, he’s very good.
Best tracks: Strange Faces, Old Fires Die, If I’ve Only One Time
Askin’, There’s a Hardship, Learning to Do Without Me, Two Word Joe
No comments:
Post a Comment