Reprinted From the  Online
Magazine
by Marty Murray, November 2000.
Brian
Gladstone - Back To The Dirt (independent)
Toronto guitarist and singer/songwriter
Brian Gladstone calls himself "an analogue guy living in a digital
world," which is kind of funny coming from a man who makes his
living as an electrical engineer and inventor. His music is as natural
and organic as the 60's he claims to be stuck in, however. Brian uses no
electric instruments, and his unique fingerpicking style will remind you
of artists such as Leon Redbone and Doc Watson, while his often amusing
and sometimes touching songs make me immediately think of Arlo Guthrie.
Right down to his hand-drawn, Robert Crumb- style liner notes, Brian is
definitely the ex-hippie he claims to be. I know exactly how he feels. I
have a little statue of a dinosaur playing a guitar sitting on my
bookshelf to remind me of myself!
Opening cut "Who Killed Betty Two
Shoes" is typical of Brian's style - a light-hearted look at a
goodtime dancing girl who ended up wearing cement shoes in Toronto Harbour.
Other good ones in that vein include "Car Song," the hilariously
funny "Rosebottom," "Don Valley Parkway Blues," and my
personal favourite, "The Black Bearded Wonder," which appears
twice, in live and studio versions. More serious fare includes
"Children Sleep In Snow," about the plight of the homeless, the
scathing "Children Of The Sun," about man's degredation of the
Earth, and the very touching "Caren 42." For a listen to Brian's
fingerpicking check out "Lengthy Diatribe," a series of guitar
instrumentals strung into a medley. For more information on Brian
Gladstone, and how you can order this CD, please visit his website at www.backtothedirt.com. |
