Michael Reinhart

Upon first listening to Michael Reinhart’s new CD “eCHO” I am reminded of the haunting acoustic songs of James Taylor and the first Simon and Garfunkel album that was bare bones folk before it was re-released two years later with studio musicians adding some muscle to make it more commercially viable.

But, this new Michael Reinhart album doesn't need any muscle. It has strengths in its acoustic approach that come from form and substance. It's also a new era where you're not competing so much with The Rolling Stones and The Beatles and there are radio stations that play well-written Americana-Roots-Folk music today. The Bob Dylan-era of folk music in the early 60's didn't really last very long. This is one of the reasons Dylan may have plugged in -- realizing that if he didn't -- his brand of music would become a dinosaur again and it did.

But today, this music on "eCHO" is excellent late night listening or early morning music just before rising for breakfast. It's relaxing, and it has its special moments of intensity. The lyrics are especially well-thought out and roam through your ears with details and places.

The opening track: “Horizon Line,” features lines like: “….there’s more miles behind me now… than are left up the road...” It's a subdued, quiet introduction to the impeccable Michael Reinhart acoustic guitar. Alison Wedding -- from Brooklyn, NY -- weaves through Michael’s vocals with a soothing haunting background vocal that displays -- if nothing else – a mood, an ambience that’s simply lovely, serious and imaginative.

“& You Said Yes,” displays intricate and delightful acoustic finger-style picking stitched into a beautiful melodic fabric. While Michael’s voice is smooth, sincere and is closer to a Townes Van Zandt comparison here I can’t help but hear echoes – no pun intended – of Cat Stevens when Cat (Yusuf Islam) wrote lyrics that were intense, provocative and filled with detail like songs on “Catch Bull at Four,” and “Teaser and the Firecat.” I am listening closely and “hear” that 1970’s Cat Stevens voice – maybe it’s the inflection or phrasing – but, this song is memorable the way Cat Stevens’ best songs were.

There are two other male vocalists that come close to comparisons with Michael and he is in great company because these artists are in a class of their own: I hear with Michael's gentle touch and sincerity a strong similarity with Martyn Joseph and Marc Cohn. I could listen to these three men all day -- their guitars, vocals, ability to tell a story through music are superlative. This is where Michael Reinhart belongs.

Maybe the only criticism that would righteously be leveled at this type of music is its sophistication.

It may be too sophisticated for the average listener. Too deep and personal. There is an audience for this music and it deserves to be heard by a wider one. Everyone, sooner or later, experiences some of the tales that Michael Reinhart relates to on this album. Maybe it’s just about being patient and hoping the album finds its audience. There’s just so many “hamburgers” out in the music world that sometimes we forget what a real steak tastes like.

If you’re a singer who likes to cover other musician’s work – “Bide My Time,” may be a bit too wordy. Lots to memorize and these are the types of lyrics that most other composers shy away from. Yet, whether you read the lyrics or just listen – it does work because it was in the hands of a true artist.

Michael manages to cleverly navigate through this river of words and it’s not choppy, it’s smooth as glass. I don’t pretend to know too much about acoustic guitars but it must be the wood or the finish, or the expensive strings – but, the sound of Michael’s guitar is warm and commanding. The notes that emanate from it find the words where the words should be. Support the words where they need the emphasis. This song is quite optimistic and lyrically -- a piece of art.

Joni Mitchell comes to mind as one of those musicians who could write a wordy song and because she’s an artist in a class of her own – she makes the notes fit the syllables. Joni once said she wrote the music first and then she fit the words. That's even more miraculous. It's not easy fitting words to music already written. I am not certain how Michael writes but judging from his work -- I have to assume the words come first.

Michael Reinhart does that here as well. “Spaghetti interstate turnpike toll road 94 – no time to stop and stare.”

Half way through the song a little accordion snakes its way into the song and suddenly words like “moonless slate black highway, too damn lonely to feel alone…” find their way so you can picture the scene vividly. For some, it may be too detailed but for people who appreciate a great story song in that Joni Mitchell tradition – this Michael Reinhart track gets four stars.

Alison Wedding’s gentle supporting vocal a - NO DEPRESSION, The Roots Music Authority

Upon first listening to Michael Reinhart’s new CD “eCHO” I am reminded of the haunting acoustic songs of James Taylor and the first Simon and Garfunkel album that was bare bones folk before it was re-released two years later with studio musicians adding some muscle to make it more commercially viable.

But, this new Michael Reinhart album doesn't need any muscle. It has strengths in its acoustic approach that come from form and substance. It's also a new era where you're not competing so much with The Rolling Stones and The Beatles and there are radio stations that play well-written Americana-Roots-Folk music today. The Bob Dylan-era of folk music in the early 60's didn't really last very long. This is one of the reasons Dylan may have plugged in -- realizing that if he didn't -- his brand of music would become a dinosaur again and it did.

But today, this music on "eCHO" is excellent late night listening or early morning music just before rising for breakfast. It's relaxing, and it has its special moments of intensity. The lyrics are especially well-thought out and roam through your ears with details and places.

The opening track: “Horizon Line,” features lines like: “….there’s more miles behind me now… than are left up the road...” It's a subdued, quiet introduction to the impeccable Michael Reinhart acoustic guitar. Alison Wedding -- from Brooklyn, NY -- weaves through Michael’s vocals with a soothing haunting background vocal that displays -- if nothing else – a mood, an ambience that’s simply lovely, serious and imaginative.

“& You Said Yes,” displays intricate and delightful acoustic finger-style picking stitched into a beautiful melodic fabric. While Michael’s voice is smooth, sincere and is closer to a Townes Van Zandt comparison here I can’t help but hear echoes – no pun intended – of Cat Stevens when Cat (Yusuf Islam) wrote lyrics that were intense, provocative and filled with detail like songs on “Catch Bull at Four,” and “Teaser and the Firecat.” I am listening closely and “hear” that 1970’s Cat Stevens voice – maybe it’s the inflection or phrasing – but, this song is memorable the way Cat Stevens’ best songs were.

There are two other male vocalists that come close to comparisons with Michael and he is in great company because these artists are in a class of their own: I hear with Michael's gentle touch and sincerity a strong similarity with Martyn Joseph and Marc Cohn. I could listen to these three men all day -- their guitars, vocals, ability to tell a story through music are superlative. This is where Michael Reinhart belongs.

Maybe the only criticism that would righteously be leveled at this type of music is its sophistication.

It may be too sophisticated for the average listener. Too deep and personal. There is an audience for this music and it deserves to be heard by a wider one. Everyone, sooner or later, experiences some of the tales that Michael Reinhart relates to on this album. Maybe it’s just about being patient and hoping the album finds its audience. There’s just so many “hamburgers” out in the music world that sometimes we forget what a real steak tastes like.

If you’re a singer who likes to cover other musician’s work – “Bide My Time,” may be a bit too wordy. Lots to memorize and these are the types of lyrics that most other composers shy away from. Yet, whether you read the lyrics or just listen – it does work because it was in the hands of a true artist.

Michael manages to cleverly navigate through this river of words and it’s not choppy, it’s smooth as glass. I don’t pretend to know too much about acoustic guitars but it must be the wood or the finish, or the expensive strings – but, the sound of Michael’s guitar is warm and commanding. The notes that emanate from it find the words where the words should be. Support the words where they need the emphasis. This song is quite optimistic and lyrically -- a piece of art.

Joni Mitchell comes to mind as one of those musicians who could write a wordy song and because she’s an artist in a class of her own – she makes the notes fit the syllables. Joni once said she wrote the music first and then she fit the words. That's even more miraculous. It's not easy fitting words to music already written. I am not certain how Michael writes but judging from his work -- I have to assume the words come first.

Michael Reinhart does that here as well. “Spaghetti interstate turnpike toll road 94 – no time to stop and stare.”

Half way through the song a little accordion snakes its way into the song and suddenly words like “moonless slate black highway, too damn lonely to feel alone…” find their way so you can picture the scene vividly. For some, it may be too detailed but for people who appreciate a great story song in that Joni Mitchell tradition – this Michael Reinhart track gets four stars.

Alison Wedding’s gentle supporting vocal a - NO DEPRESSION, The Roots Music Authority

Michael Reinhart

Michael Reinhart is quite the renaissance man- stage designer, artist, composer, photographer, singer/songwriter. He shines in the latter role here, delivering an eloquent collection of quietly haunting and deeply personal folk. His talented accompanists include Jeff Bird (Cowboy Junkies), Noah Zacharin, Alison Wedding, and noted Vancouver cellist Peggy Lee, whose work adds graceful atmospherics, as does violin and accordion. Reinhart's fluent finger-style guitar playing also shines. He is unafraid to stretch out, with many songs pushing six-plus minutes in an hour-plus album. It is all time well-spent. Reinhart has CD release parties at Toronto's Musideum (May 17) and Montreal's Robin Des Bois (June 20).
Kerry Doole - New Canadian Music

by Randi Beers
November 18 2011

Michael Reinhart makes country-folk sound jazzy on his latest release, Lost & Found. The tickling of piano keys on “Broken Idea”, the relaxed staccato of his vocal delivery, a track called “Nola”, it all mixes together with a traditional roots musical style to create a comfortable hybrid that states Reinhart is just too relaxed to stick to one genre. Highlights on Lost & Found include the accordion in “Falling Into the Sky”, the Nick Drake-ian “Nola” and Reinhart’s warm, gravelly vocal performance. Reinhart, who in 2003 released a collaboration with a group of Inuit singers in Nunavut, Quaraaluktuq, and followed that up with an original music score for a TIFF feature film, Before Tomorrow, in 2008, is finally gracing Canada with his first solo release, and it’s an immensely pleasurable listen.
(Independent)
- EXCLAIM!

by Randi Beers
November 18 2011

Michael Reinhart makes country-folk sound jazzy on his latest release, Lost & Found. The tickling of piano keys on “Broken Idea”, the relaxed staccato of his vocal delivery, a track called “Nola”, it all mixes together with a traditional roots musical style to create a comfortable hybrid that states Reinhart is just too relaxed to stick to one genre. Highlights on Lost & Found include the accordion in “Falling Into the Sky”, the Nick Drake-ian “Nola” and Reinhart’s warm, gravelly vocal performance. Reinhart, who in 2003 released a collaboration with a group of Inuit singers in Nunavut, Quaraaluktuq, and followed that up with an original music score for a TIFF feature film, Before Tomorrow, in 2008, is finally gracing Canada with his first solo release, and it’s an immensely pleasurable listen.
(Independent)
- EXCLAIM!

Lost&Found is the first album since 2003's Quaraaluktuq from Kitchener-raised, Montreal-based Michael Reinhart. Recorded live, off-the-floor with no overdubs, the album's 11 tracks feature some of the singer/songwriter's favorite original songs. Reinhart, who handles vocals and acoustic finger-style guitar, is joined by longtime accompanists Jérémi Roy on upright bass and David Ryshpan on piano and accordion. Reinhart is an engaging songwriter and has a warm, dusty voice. For those who haven't heard him perform live, Lost&Found is a fine introduction. Robert Reid / Roots reviewer. December 15, 2011. - The Record / Kitchener-Waterloo

"... It is not contemporary, rather it is timeless. The type that will grow old pretty well in your music collection, and that you will rediscover, with pleasure, every year." - Guillaume Leclerc, June 3, 2010. - Montreal Folk Culture Examiner

"The only way of describing these exotically melodic tunes is spiritual, confirming how music transcends geography, history and culture when it speaks to the heart and to the soul."

Robert Reid, Music critic
The Record. Kitchener-Waterloo, 2003 - The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo)

"The cheerful spirit of the music, and perhaps the choice of instrumentation, speaks less of ice floes and bitter winds than it does of fun under the midnight sun." Rating: 8.5/10

Rupert Bottenberg, Music critic.
The Mirror, 2003. - Montreal Mirror

"Magnétique, sûrement."

Philippe Daoust, Music critic.
l'Actualité. 2003. - l'Actualité Magazine

"Une création tout à fait unique."

Yves Bernard, Arts writer.
ICI Montréal. 2004. - ICI, Montréal

"The final product is astonishing in its complexity."

François Dufort, Arts writer.
ICI, Montréal. 2004
On the performance 'extinction'. - ICI, Montréal

"Magnétique, sûrement."

Philippe Daoust, Music critic.
l'Actualité. 2003. - l'Actualité Magazine