John Boyd

THE NIAGARA REVIEW
**** (4 stars out of five)
CD: SEE MY CAT - John Boyd

"Gotta keep on singing this sad song," croons Niagara Falls' John Boyd on the first song of his debut cd. "One day it's gonna bring my baby back home." If it means more albums as good as this, she can take her time .

Aided by sturdy local players like Pete Haverkamp - but mostly with late nights and an acoustic guitar - Boyd has crafted one of those introductory CDs which should make all of Canada take notice, not just the hometown crowd. After months of buzz, Boyd's anxiously-awaited See My Cat opens with the stark, stunning Far Too Long, which sounds like the greatest song the Cowboy Junkies never got around to. It's the loudest thing you'll find here - most of what follows is deep, dark and drenched in Delta. With a singing voice barely above a whisper, Boyd offers maximum misery on And This Beer, the soundtrack to a solitary night in the pub: "Long ago in another life / I had two kids and a loving wife / Now they're gone forever I fear, So I'll take comfort in the good Lord and this beer." Later in the sweet Summer Rain, those Nick Drake comparisons start feeling earned.

A better comparison might be Ron Sexsmith - the last great artist Niagara produced. We'll see what Boyd's next step is, but the first one is a doozie.
- John Law
- The Niagara Falls Review