Not since Todd Rundgren first appeared on the music scene have
\nwe seen a pop genius like Richard X. Heyman. Like Rundgren, he
\nwrites catchy songs with thoughtful, bittersweet lyrics, and he can
\nplay a multitude of instruments including guitar, drums, piano,
\nharpsicord and bass. His previous album,
\nHey Man!<\/i>, was a tour de force of occasionally wistful but
\nalways melodic gems, and this new one,
\nCornerstone<\/i>, is even better.<\/p>\n
It has been seven years since Heyman’s last release and in that
\ntime, Heyman’s songwriting has matured. While
\nCornerstone<\/i> lacks some of the sonic twists and turns of its
\npredecessor, it is more focused musically and thematically. The
\ntitle song begins the album on a wistful tone as Heyman describes
\nreturning to a town to find everything has gone away but that the
\ncornerstone still remains. And all of the songs that follow take a
\ncue from this one by looking back at the joys and failures of a
\nlove affair. The last song “Clear To Me Now” sums up what
\n“Cornerstone” had intimated, and he realizes the biggest loss of
\nall was true love. The power of the lyrics, coupled with the
\ntightly contructed melodies prove Heyman to be a sort of a
\npower-pop poet laureate.<\/p>\n
Like all classic pop music,
\nCornerstone<\/i> is influenced by pop stars of the past, starting
\nwith Heyman’s singing voice which sounds like a cross between Ray
\nDavies of the Kinks and Tom Petty. Musically, there are familiar
\ntouches from the jangly guitar sound of “If We Should Ever Meet
\nAgain” to the Burt Bacharach feel on the midtempo piano number
\n“When She Arrives” to the mid-period Beatles influence on “The
\nDrone Song.” I also hear a little of a poppish Moody Blues running
\nthroughout the album whether the song is uptempo like “Ask Anyone
\nWho’s Tried” or a gentler acoustic song like “All I Have.” But
\nrather than mimicing past artists, he instead creates a sound
\nuniquely his own by melding these different influences.<\/p>\n
Heyman’s talent on various instruments is quite impressive. I
\nlove his intricate harpischord playing on “When It Was Our Time”
\nand his classy piano playing on “Racing After You.” I also like the
\nway the guitars sound sort of like bagpipes on “Tidal Wave.” Heyman
\nplays all the instruments on four of the fourteen songs, and on the
\nothers, he gets some good instrumental work out of Lez Warner on
\ndrums, Andy Resnick on guitar, and his wife, Nancy Leigh, on bass.
\nWow, a spouse with talent, what a concept!<\/p>\n
What Heyman has successfully done on
\nCornerstone<\/i> is create an album that will appeal to power-pop
\nfans for his concise, catchy melodies. And since his lyrics prove
\nhim to be quite the singer-songwriter, this album will also appeal
\nto folk-rock fans.
\nCornerstone<\/i> is the best of both worlds.<\/p>\n
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