Gravity: Defying Gravity

Cheryl Wheeler: Defying Gravity

Jesse Winchester: Defying Gravity

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When released in early 2005, dreamy electric guitar tones opened the 44-minute "Defying Gravity," singer/songwriter Cheryl Wheeler's first studio album since 1999. It was interesting that she chose to title the entire album with the only track that she didn’t write herself – Jesse Winchester’s “Defying Gravity” at track six on her album. 
 
While a singer/songwriter could fall into the trap of rushing out mediocre material to meet self-imposed deadlines, Cheryl's didn’t rush out with “Defying Gravity.” Like Winchester, she’s also known for masterfully crafted songs with colorful lyrics color and intriguing auralscapes. Some of her songs are somber meditations about life, and the “Defying Gravity” CD's jacket gives us all the lyrics to read and reflect upon.
 
Sung from the heart, Cheryl's themes revolve around loneliness brought on by the death of her father ("Since You've Been Gone"), heartache ("Must Be Sinking Now"), and inner turmoil ("Beyond the Lights"). "Summer's Almost Over" is a sad nostalgic tale of a season changing and time passing. "On the Plane" and "It's the Phone" are both funny and cynical pieces that were recorded live at The Bottom Line in New York.
 
With wry wit, she's full of humorous lines like "The air that you're breathing's been re-circulating since Orville and Wilbur were boys..." And the song is nice respite even though it was dropped from her set list for quite some time following 9/11. “Alice" describes a hardworking Minnesota campground host and hotel desk clerk who is full of wanderlust. An instrumental, "Clearwater, Florida," allows Cheryl to showcase her fine and delicate fingerpicking.

Somewhat of a concept album, "Defying Gravity" has a more laid-back and somber tone than some previous releases. She seems more serene, thoughtful and introspective with this project. Tasteful use of guitar, percussion, bass, vibes and keyboards permeates the instrumentation.

"Defying Gravity" is a very strong album with plenty of good lyrics and music to ponder. After listening to a nostalgic closing piece like "Blessed," one will want to reflect upon their own childhood memories and of Jesus and his love. Cheryl Wheeler succeeds in motivating, inspiring and entertaining us with her music. And doesn’t every struggling singer/songwriter have a goal of “defying gravity” to succeed in a rough musical environment? Well she clearly has, and now it’s clearer why she may have titled her 2005 album for that Jesse Winchester cover.     

Four-Legged Friends: Howl at the Moon Edition

Cheryl Wheeler: Howl at the Moon

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David Stocker: Penny the Moondog

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Cheryl Wheeler is one of those artists who can have you laughing uproariously or crying inconsolably - this song, inspired by/written for James, her new-at-the-time border collie, has the latter effect on me...

David Stocker was a finalist in our South Florida Folk Festival songwriting competition in 1998 and 1999, and the tune above was one of his entries, which became a howl-along at every opportunity - David is now better known for his participation in the group One Drum...

Both of these songs remind me of my own dog Rocky (official name Rocky Raccoon, after the Beatles' song), who has slowed down considerably in his almost-15-years with our family - he is adorable, wise, affectionate and loyal. Rocky spends most days curled at my feet (if I'm on the computer) or following me from room-to-room (if I'm doing chores around the house)... yet he gets super-excited when one son returns from work... or the other comes home from college for the weekend... or as soon as I get back from my walk and take the leash out of the drawer for his own turn around the block - he is immortalized in the blogosphere here, when Christine Kane took a picture of him the weekend she played my concert series a few years ago and stayed overnight with us before driving to a gig in Tampa the next day...

Rocky is doing his doggie-dream hiccup, even as I type - "a tale of two souls, four paws, one heart" indeed...

Autumn and Harvest: When Fall Comes to New England

Cheryl Wheeler: When Fall Comes to New England

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Living in South Florida, it's difficult for me to comprehend fall or New England... yet Cheryl Wheeler's descriptive lyrics and plaintive voice instantly evoke the seasonal equinox and the geographic landscape, introducing me to the snap in the air, the swirl of the leaves and the smoke in the chimneys - bring on the flannel!

Questions: Three Questions

These three songs have three things in common: the titles, of course, are all questions; the artists all happen to be female; and these are songs that I would have posted over the course of the week, if this had been a normal week. It wasn’t. I have been putting the finishing touches on the restoration of Oliver di Place, and my glitches have glitches. But I do have my new file host. In fact, this post is a test of that host, so if anyone has any problem listening to or downloading the tracks, please let me know in the comments.

Cheryl Wheeler: Is it Peace or Is It Prozac

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Cheryl Wheeler is one of those artists who is often labeled folk or singer-songwriter. Neither label really describes her art. Wheeler writes most of her material, and she plays acoustic guitar, but she plays with a full band, and uses whatever instruments suit her material. For Is It Peace or Is It Prozac?, Wheeler chose an arrangement which begins and ends with a snatch of elevator music, to help make her point about the overmedicating of America. As always, Wheeler makes her case with warmth and good humor.

Devon Sproule: Does the Day Feel Long?

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You’ve probably heard of those hippie communes that were all the rage in the sixties. And it’s easy to believe that these were nothing more than an expression of the misplaced optimism of youth, and that the communes all died out when the sixties gave way to the disillusionment of the seventies. But Devon Sproule can tell you that some of these communes still exist; she grew up on one. Perhaps it is this lifestyle that left Sproule open to a variety of musical influences. Her interests in folk, country, and jazz can be clearly heard here.

Mia Doi Todd: What If We Do?

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As I write this, I realize that something else unites these artists. None of them can be easily pinned down to a single musical genre. And Mia Doi Todd is perhaps the most baffling of all in this respect. Her first musical training was as a classical singer. She had a major label deal at on time on Columbia Jazz. And her early recordings, featuring just her and an acoustic guitar, might have been considered folk. Don’t even try to add her talent as a painter, or her study of avant garde dance to the puzzle. All of this might make it sound like her music would be “difficult”. But this is not the case at all. Original, yes, but accessible as well. The best way to get a handle on it is to just listen.