EAGLE-EYE CHERRY - DESIRELESS

• WORK / Sony

First things first: Eagle-Eye Cherry is a person, not just the band's name. Eagle-Eye is, despite his obvious narcissism, (there are a total of eleven pictures of his face in the album packaging) a good musician. He is the son of late jazz musician Don Cherry and half-brother of Neneh Cherry. Other music critics have made a big deal of this, and I mention it only briefly to state that I couldn't care less. Yes, Jakob Dylan is Bob's son, but that wasn't enough to make me buy his crappy album. I really didn't know what to think of "Save Tonight" the first single from Desireless. It was, lyrically speaking, a very simplistic love song, but it sported some great accoustic guitar playing. In the end, I decided it was good. Much better however was "Indecision", a song dealing with guilt and the rejection of salvation contained within almost Hendrix-like guitar wizardry. On the other end of the scale, "Rainbow Wings" is a beauiful yet colld folk tale which really highlights the percussion talents of Magnus Persson who - like the other musicians who don't happen to be named Eagle-Eye Cherry - don't get half the recognition they deserve. Cherry's voice seems to be the focus a bit too much on too many of the songs for my taste. He really is a good singer, but an album is a collaborative effort, no matter who gets to have their face on the cover. Another song worth special attention is "Shooting Up In Vain", a glimpse into the life of a heroin addict. Sonically textured, it builds from a wasted blearyness to a funky hip-hop stagger before finally slinking back into the darkness. The title track, however is what really made this album for me. A jazzy instrumental with wordless chanting, it is like nothing else on the album. Coming as it does after a song about death, it may be representative of heaven. Divinely inspired or not, it is one amazing track, and a testament to Cherry's talent and ear for good music - not just shiny pop tunes.

Review by Aram at:  Frames Per Second

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