Thomas Bryan Eaton “We All Want To Be Love” Album Review
I recently caught Miss Tess with Girls Guns and Glory on New Years Day and was blown away by her guitar player’s chops and harmonies…turns out this gent is a songwriter himself and a damn good one. Thomas Bryan Eaton’s “We All Want To Be Love” has an array of sounds and feelings to it. It is rock n’ roll, it is folky, it hits many levels for me. But in the end, what matters, is that it is a damn fine recording from a great musician and songwriter.
‘Last June’ kicks in with this almost musical wind-chime guitar sound. There is a different tone to the steel strings ringing through than I am used to in a recording. Much less warmth, much more crisp clarity. Then Eaton kicks in with the harmonies. This is a happy sound. This is an “everyone join on in and sing together” kind of a vibe embedded in the tunes. A lot is going on, but it is enchanting in a way, never muddled, you want to investigate each and every sound that is coming through your speakers.
“Dancin’” has a different feel to it. Beginning with that blues two step that is so familiar to so many, but taking a path less traveled and unpredictable. When the gang all starts singing “you’re so good to me darlin’, oh you’re so good”, well, I am hooked. Tapping along to the beat. Great musicianship across the board, a couple really great and memorable lines that are anything but cliché, and make you do a “oh yeah!” to yourself. Once all the instruments take their turn at their respective solos and kick back in to the chorus line, the energy is off the charts and it’s a good old barroom romp that will keep you bopping along for the duration.
The songwriter then shows his depth and range by taking it down quite a bit. Slowing the songs down into really beautiful ballad type arrangements with “Moving Away” evoking a yearning feeling that holds strong over harmonious background vocals and swooning electric guitars.
“Days Will Come” reminds me of what hanging with Levon at a Ramble must have been like. Singing out in unison, songs about troubles and trials. It just has a vibe, a flow, a complete and totally excellent feeling overtakes me in listening to this. I see Danko bopping to the beat, everyone knows the song, everyone is singing along.
(photo courtesy of the artist)
Thomas Bryan Eaton has a very calm and soothing character to his voice. He manages to cross boundaries and genres effortlessly, while remaining fairly stable in his overall sound. A rather cool way of taking many influences, but containing them in a consistent and enjoyable package. I love the flow of the record, sequenced incredibly thoughtfully and well. It starts off mid to up tempo, dips down, and brings you back up again with “I’ve Been Loving You”s soaring guitar and key solos and lays you down easy with the closing track’s chirping birds and soft picked acoustic. Really a wonderful ride that I will be revisiting again and again.
