The songs of Brian Gladstone are quiet and unassuming. They're
comfortable songs that feel like they've been around a long time, like an
old easy chair or your favourite slippers. This is music that brings fond
remembrance of the Sixties yet often seems to reach back as far as the
Twenties. This is old-time music but it's not old-timey, drawing as it does
from the mainstream of 20th Century American popular music. The words, on
the other hand, come from the realities of 21st Century life and tend to
speak largely to a hometown Toronto audience. The overall effect is warm and
cozy, the songs bringing a homey and somehow timeless sense of comfort to
the listener.
Gladstone's activist roots show through in several of the lyrics,
addressing social issues with as much fervour as such peaceful music will
allow. Other lyrics demonstrate that Gladstone is an active observer of the
human condition, commenting on lifestyle and personal relationships as they
appear in this fast paced digital age.
Gladstone has a sweet, soft voice reminiscent of a Will Millar, Harry
Nilsson, Keith Carradine, Gerry Marsden, or any number of pop and folk
singers of the mid-century. This is the music not of a bar but of a coffee
house or a folk club attended by aging hippies. Whatever rage had ever been
in this voice has mellowed with age but may sit just below the surface,
waiting to catch the listener by surprise. Even at his quietest, Gladstone
hints at the protest singer still alive within him.
In a time when songwriters seem to reach for the universal or recede into
the deeply internal and personal, Gladstone is a community artist. While
both the universal and the personal can be found in any of his songs, at
their root is a deep sense of the home town. His songs on this release are
about Toronto and many make strong, specific references to such Toronto
locales as the Don Valley Parkway and Lake Ontario. Even where the lyric may
not be directly about Toronto, it always seems to look at the world beyond
from a Toronto perspective. These are songs made for the home town crowd,
yet they can also be understood, if at a different level, by listeners
everywhere.
The instrumentation here is simple and acoustic, with quietly balanced
arrangements to complement and support Gladstone's vocals ably filled out by
back-up vocalist Bonnie Gladstone. As musicians, Gladstone, Ralph Hassell,
and Daniel Schlagbaum bring a bright, cheerful ambience to these recordings.
Even without the vocals, these songs would be a pleasure to hear.
Bonnie Gladstone's backing vocals bring to these songs a sweetness
reminiscent of Montreal's Sixties pop group The Bells. "Children Sleep in
Snow" is just one example where this sound comes through. With a pretty old-
fashioned melody and subdued folkie jingle jangle instrumentation, this song
invites the comparison. Bonnie Gladstone's breathy vocals and the brief
spoken line at the end bring memories of songs like "Stay Awhile" from The
Bells.
"Icy Northern Town" starts out with a "Puff the Magic Dragon" sort of
sound but soon morphs into something that sounds more like the songs of
Peter Sarstedt. The two styles interweave throughout this song, giving it an
eery dreamlike sense of songs heard from far away on a car radio, one
station sometimes slipping in under the other. The sweet female backing
vocals only serve to enhance this effect.
While most of these songs evoke a quiet back porch style that would be
comfortable in the Twenties or the Sixties, one stands out as the sort of
Sixties pop that pre-figured the alternative musics of later decades. "You
Know How" features Gladstone punching out his words with nasal tones over a
jumpy little tune. I find myself wishing this number was a bit longer. It
would also be good to hear this one performed with a full band featuring
strong bass and rocking drums.
There are two pieces on this release not written by Gladstone but both
demonstrating his affinity for the old music. "Lengthy Diatribe" is a medley
of four tunes originally performed by country and blues artists like Doc
Watson and Blind Blake. A listener may visualize some rural guitarist
leaning back on his chair on the front verandah and just picking away at
these songs in the waning light of dusk. Reverend Gary Davis' "Hesitation
Blues" has much the same effect, only more so. This is a quiet performance
with subdued vocals over guitar that's relaxed even when it's up-tempo. Both
these tracks demonstrate Gladstone's considerable skill and unique style on
the guitar.
While the music of Brian Gladstone may make comfortable listening, many
of the songs carry a seditious undertone that wants not to prick the
listener's conscience but to seduce it. Behind the sweet songwriter is an
activist with something to say about the social issues of the day. For both
its old fashioned, slightly countrified sound and the words, which bear a
listen or even a read, Back to the Dirt would make an interesting
addition to any collection of contemporary Canadian music.
To learn everything you ever wanted to know about Brian Gladstone and
even more, be sure to visit Gladstoneville. To
hear samples of Brian Gladstone's songs, including thirteen of the songs on
this release, go here.
Unfortunately, these samples are only available in RealAudio format so not
available to those of us who prefer the more universally playable mp3
format.
Reprinted
from Soundbytes April 2005
