one point oh is billed as "a surprising collage of diverse artists," which is a bit of an overstatement; but unquestionably this is an excellent disc that should be near the top of your shopping list this summer. Charlie Peacock has never impressed me as a solo artist, though he's a competent musician, but his reputation as a talented producer is well-deserved. It's as a producer and aspiring entertainment mogul that he shines here, introducing his new re:think label and several new artists.
There are no bad selections on this disc, but even if the other nine were abysmal, I'd buy it just to get Sarah Hart's "Falling to Ashes." Peacock writes that "this artist and this song ... typify beauty and grace," and for once I agree wholeheartedly with him! As important as her achingly beautiful voice, however, are Hart's evocative lyrics. In "Falling to Ashes," she skillfully weaves together childhood innocence:
Here the remains of the old willow tree. I'm envisioning Jesse and Mary and me. Ring around the rosy girls, Pockets of posies Whirling around, going down, down...
and fallen mortality
Past the cathedral of St. Bernadette, The soot of a sinner still fresh on my head. Giggles and whispers that echoed through vespers, Weren't we all the guiltless ones? Each one so unaware, so naive Without any cause to believe we were Falling to ashes.
with stately music that references "London Bridge" without ever quite quoting from it. Memo to Charlie: drop everything and release a Sarah Hart CD post-haste!
The other nine selections are pretty good, too, though they're mostly in the Peacock vein of slick, vaguely "alternative" pop. That's not so bad-a label should have an identifiable sound-and there are at least three that stand out: the great Aaron Smith weighs in with a Mingus-like, if somewhat corny, spoken word jazz piece; ensemblepossible [that's the group name] does interesting things with Bach and a horn section; and Richard Thomas bends fusion guitar licks to pop ends in "To Velma, With Love." Peacock himself puts in a credible performance on "Insult Like the Truth" and Sarah Masen, whose independent release, sadly, was unavailable when this was written, is represented here by the title track of her new re:think CD, All Fall Down. Also noteworthy is "Wild Patch" from Karen Bradley, whose interesting voice would stand out more if not overshadowed by Hart's tour de force. The remaining tracks, from Joey Richey, Diana Beach, and Brent Milligan, are nice, but not exceptional.
Incidentally, the disc is supposed to contain "bonus interactive multimedia and video footage" (and, in case you've been living in a cave and don't have 47 diskettes from them already, AOL software). Unfortunately, neither my 486 running OS2 or a borrowed Pentium running Windows 95 would recognize the disc as anything other than an audio CD. Your mileage may vary, and there's rumored to be some Steve Taylor-induced hilarity within, so good luck.
In conclusion, if one point oh is any indication, we have a lot to look forward to from Charlie Peacock and his re:think label.
Other coverage for this album
The Lighthouse December 1996Reviewed by Tim SharpeIn the liner notes of the pre-release, this album is described as "a surprising collage of diverse artists compiled and produced by Charlie Peacock." I'd agree with that summary, though there really should have been some emphasis put on the last part of that statement. Charlie Peacock's famous (or, to some, infamous) signature is all over this album. It's in the guitar chords, the bass lines, the…
