A SIGNIFICANT STEP TOWARD EXCELLENCE
There seem to be two types of male piano rock-ers in the world. There’s Elton John and Rufus Wainwright’s lavish post-Broadway histrionic; and then there’s Billy Joel and Ben Fold’s melodramatic piano bar philosophy. Nate Sallie wants to straddle the two, but ends up firmly in the first camp.
Although he occasionally veers into the middling mid-tempo, radio pop that marked his debut (“Holy Spirit” and “Love Song”), Sallie suddenly seems most at home at a piano in the eye of a musical tornado. He lets it all hang out—soulfulness, playfulness and passion come through on most tracks as do his influences. Sallie is just as happy to throw in a little modern British piano pop (“Breakthrough”) as he is tossing Chicago-like horns into the plucky ’70s piano rock of “Let Go of Me.” Even on the quieter, stripped-down closer, “Sing Through Me,” Sallie adds color and life.
Oddly, for all the emotionality he brings, Sallie still has difficulty writing emotionally moving lyrics. Lyrical weaknesses aside, he has delivered a project light years ahead of his debut and musically ahead of many of his contemporaries.
ANTHONY BARR-JEFFREY
Review Provided by CCMmagazine.com
