Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 01/06/09
Label: J Records/Sony

Before anything else is said, it should be noted that Daniel Merriweather's debut album is a work of love and devotion and as such should be commended. Having proved his vocal worth on Mark Ronson's rousing, old soul rework of The Smith's "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before", he set out not just to capitalise on his new found fame, but to realise an ambition to make a record that actually mattered. Really, if everyone with a record contract had such integrity, music would be a much healthier place. How well he pulls it off though, that's something else entirely.

From every bar of "Love & War" it's clear that the 26-year-old, Melbourne born New Yorker wrote and recorded it with classic albums in mind. Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On", Jay-Z's "The Blueprint", just a few whose DNA is imbedded in the searching pianos and street-ready struts; the hope obviously being that his debut might one day be counted among their number.

Aided and produced by his retro fascinated mentor Ronson, and backed by his favourite horn-totting cohorts The Dap-Kings, Merriweather resists the empty shimmer and shine of pop, issuing "Cigarettes"'s regret, the "California Dreaming" inspired plea of "Could You" and "Not Giving Up"'s sweeping strings with a vintage R&B style and substance that's full of care, meaning and sincerity. No doubt about it, it's an album made of the best intentions. Shame they keep getting in the way.

For all the perfectly executed soul and carefully thought-out lyrics - intelligent, considered and delivered with unwavering belief - it's hard to ignore the sound of someone trying too hard. There's just no lightness. There's nothing carefree to its lilt. There's just no fun. It's a serious, worthy record, and if not quite depressing, it's certainly very sobering.

The exceptions that prove the point are the singles, "Change" and "Red". The punching chorus of the former, the soft saunter of the latter (even though it sounds uncomfortably like Daniel Bedingfield's "I Can't Read You"), balance out the weight of the words, giving them a resonance which would have been lost in the gloom of the rest of the record.

It's a shame really. You'd think that Mark Ronson, who managed to make light of Radiohead's "Just" and Coldplay's "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face" on his own album, would have been able to lightened the mood. An exaggerated horn loop or a comedy bongo break would have done everyone good.

    by Dan Gennoe