Fergie's Garage

Wow, a tune in F# minor. Unusual.

The guitar work is crisp in in the pocket for the most part. The break right at the beginning sounded a hair too short, but I counted it about 3 times, and maybe I was just laying back too much at first because it counted out right on the third try. This sounds like kind of a small box--nothing wrong with that, it's just unusual. The tone is good and the instrument is recorded well (and you TUNED it--YEA!!!...you'd be amazed how many don't bother). The small instrument may actually help in terms of giving the tune a more intimate feel.

The vocal is clear, strong, and in-tune. It's easy to understand the lyrics even with all the enunciation nuance going on, which is a plus.

Normally I HATE 3-chord vamps called "songs," but you've done a lot here to make me warm up to it. For one thing, you're using a bVI-V-i progression, which is cool--the chromatic move in the first change gives this more grit and power than most tunes like this. For another, you've varied the figure, mixing it up with a little linear picking that kicks the tune down the path better than just straight strumming, so it ebbs and flows more dynamically. You've also used some interesting chord voicings with a little more dirt in them, and you change those up too as you move down the pike. Nice job.

Lastly, the vocal isn't a monotone drone!! (thankyouthankyouthankyou...) It leaps around, using a pretty wide range, and you control it well. The fact that I'm concentrating more on the emotion than on vocal technique or intonation is testament to the fact that your chops are good--normally I have trouble getting past that stuff.

So you've taken something that I normally hate and turned it into something I kinda like--no small feat.

The lyric is poignant--it's a take on breaking up that I've not heard before, and you make it personal and draw the listener into your emotional life. The second verse, "All the friends that have come and gone/they just couldn't ever measure up/my best friend lost in a flash/and the memories are quick to hurt me fast" digs in DEEP...this is a LOVE song, not an "oh, woe is me I lost that thing that was keeping me warm in bed" song. The tune's only slightly over 2 minutes, yet you've told a story that sticks, and challenges all of us from the most intellectual to the most visceral--bravo, that's hard to do.

The more I listen to this simple, unassuming and "un-flashy" song, the more I like it. It takes a special gift to play and sing something simple and do it well--anybody can do a simple song and say nothing, lots of people can complicate matters and dazzle you with chops (and sometimes I'm a sucker for that) but it's a rare artist who can put across something simple and still please the cynics. Nice job, man. I can think of a handful of artists I'd put in that category--Tom Waits, Leon Redbone, John Lee Hooker, Rickie Lee Jones, Harry Connick if he's having a good hair day...there are more but now I'm on the spot, so I'll just leave it with those and let you fill in the blanks with your favorite "simple but powerful" artists.

And now I think I'm gonna do something I'd never normally do for a 3-chord vamp--I'm givin' you 5 stars.

Have a great 2005, keep making more music, and don't give up the fight (for the girl or the music). Peace.

Extra Credit: Male Vocals, Guitars, Lyrics, Mood, Most Bitter Breakup Song.

- Garageband.com - Ralph Johnson - Muncie, Indiana

CHRIS CLAY
Feb 16, 2005

Influenced heavily by such singer/songwriters as Neil Young, Muddy Waters and Bob Dylan, former Erin Mills resident Dustin Joel brings his laid back musical style to the Drake & Firkin in Meadowvale for a performance on Saturday, Feb. 26.

Playing a mixture of covers and originals from his recently released debut album, Naked, Joel hits the stage at 9:30 p.m. Admission is free.

Enamoured with frets and strings from a young age ("It didn't matter whose guitar it was or how many strings it had, I wanted to hold it" reminisced Joel), by his early teens, Joel had moved on to lyrics. He released his 14-track CD, recorded at Chatham Garden Recording Studios in Hamilton, in the fall.

The entirely acoustic album has a heavy John Mayer feel to it, an artist Joel professed to be listening to in great quantities when writing the CD.

"There's something about a guy and his guitar that sounds great," said Joel, 20, a second-year marketing student at the University of Guelph. "I'm comfortable with the acoustic guitar. Something about who I am makes expressing myself with an acoustic easy."

Such songs as Nothing New, Superman and I Should Be Living highlight the Georgetown resident's strong playing skills. However, he plans on recording his next album with a full backing band and will drop the acoustic guitar for its electric brethren.

"I think I have musical attention deficit disorder," said Joel, with a sly smile. "I don't like to stay in one place for too long."

Joel is particularly proud of the overall live feeling of the album. It was something he strove for.

"You press play, sit back and it's like I'm sitting there playing to you. There's no special effects on the CD and I tried to keep it relatively raw. The ultimate goal in any recording is to get it to sound as good as you do live," said Joel.

THE MISSISSAUGA NEWS

- The Mississauga News