Singer/songwriter Paul Colman is not new to the process of making albums. Having already tucked two albums under his belt--his previous one a solo project entitled One Voice, One Guitar, which found reasonable success in Australia (his homeland)--he decided to team up with Grant Norsworthy (bass) and Phil Gaudion (drums) to create the Paul Colman Trio. Serious Fun is their debut recording.
Serious Fun is basically a pop driven acoustic album, with a pleasant range from reflective tunes with delicate piano and guitar work to upbeat, hook-driven pop songs. There's only so much you can do with four instruments (guitars, bass, drums and piano), but Colman masterfully incorporates them to create excellent variety.
Colman is the driving force behind the Trio, having written or co-written all the songs on Serious Fun and produced the album. His vocals match the emotion of the song perfectly. Whether on a reflective note, a humorous one, or anything in between, his voice is strong.
For an independent release, the production on this album is superb and as good as any mainstream Christian record out there. The artwork is nothing spectacular, but the liner notes are extensive.
Every song on Serious Fun is well performed and well written, but a few definitely stand out. The album begins with the sound of surf opening up to electric guitars and Paul's vocals on "Dip," a song that is ready-made pop radio material. Next comes "Run," a remake of one of Paul Colman's hits off One Voice, One Guitar. "The Killing Tree" cuts straight to the heart with these powerful words:
All alone in an evil dream I see myself up high
And it's me over you with my arms spread open wide
I try to run from the place I know that I can be set free
Come away, come away there's a sweet voice calling me
To the killing tree.
"Home" sports one of the most funky drum riffs I've heard in a very long time. But you ain't heard nothing yet until you've heard the "Banquet Table." If you think Sixpence's song sequencing is clever, you haven't heard this classic three-part opera. Part one opens with African instrumentation and sets the stage for the rest of the story. The person writing the story expresses with anger his disappointment at the presence of some of the worst sinners, prostitutes and thieves. Part two features sounds from a dinner table and gradually builds into part three, until all chaos breaks loose, with drums and guitars going berserk in a strangely intense way. The music stays at this intense level while the writer takes us through the speech made by the banquet host:
No one's righteous no one's better
So take a look inside
Take a look inside
I took a look inside.
Suddenly, all music stops and Paul Colman's voice, filled with emotion and passion, soars above the delicate acoustic background to come to his stunning conclusion:
And suddenly I felt my eyes pouring tears on me of liberty
And I realized I was one who needed love and setting free
My brother here my sister there
And the banquet host his empty chair
Forgiveness came and sweet relief
And then I saw why he invited me tonight.
Colman's strong use of metaphors like the one above is characteristic for his work. His music is inspiring and focuses primarily on how much we need God's love in our lives. The songs, "All Around the World" and "This is Forever" are love songs, the latter of which is also a metaphor for our relationship with God. "Big Boy" is a cheerful tune that's about what really makes a person strong.
There isn't much negative to say about Serious Fun, except maybe the overuse of pop-cliches like lai-lai-lai, ta-ta-ta, di-di-di-dum, etc. However, for some of the songs, these lines play as big a role as the music itself. The record never runs dry. It doesn't lose appeal after a few listens, because there's enough variety to keep it going for well over an hour. So if you dig acoustic pop by artists like Steven Curtis Chapman, I strongly recommend the Paul Colman Trio.
This is an independent release, so it's unlikely you'll be able to find it in your local music store, but you can visit the Paul Colman Trio website above to get yourself a copy of this excellent debut from a trio you're sure to hear of in the future.
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