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| CD REVIEWS |
| WAYNE NORMAN - A SONGWRITER'S JOURNEY COMPILATION CD REVIEW |
| Wayne Norman is a former sea captain and marine science professor who has dabbled as a live performer with various bands ((Nellie & The Neurotics, Yucatan Express and Summer Wine) over the years. He retired from his marine and academic life in 2004 to concentrate on a writing career in song composition, theatrical plays and poetry. In addition to the CD series, he has already completed a 3-act play called �Let to Let Live� and is currently writing an autobiographical play. "A Songwriter�s Journey", a series of CDs that currently stands at five volumes, is comprised of over 60 original recordings by Mr. Norman, formerly of Botwood, Newfoundland and Labrador, and now residing in St. John�s. This is a summary review of the five CDs, which are entitled as follows: VOL. 1 � THE CAPE ROAD VOL. 2 � THE MAGIC WITHIN VOL. 3 � CELEBRATION & REFLECTION VOL. 4 � ME & MS. TAYLOR VOL. 5 � ROLL THAT STONE There is a wide variety of genres overlapping throughout the five CDs, including country, bluegrass, blues, rockabilly and pop. Wayne has variously enlisted back-up support from an exhaustive list of local players and singers, comprised of the following: Doug (Bud) Gaulton, Boyd Chubbs, Glenn Hiscock, Terry Riley, Craig Follett, Mike Hanrahan, Ginny Ryan, Juliette Ryan, Lily Abbas, Beverley (Greeley) Penton, Dermot O�Reilly, Peter Narv�ez, Mack Barfoot, Sandy Morris, Greg Walsh, Fred Jorgensen, Julie Gill, Emily Cummings, Colin Carrigan, Terry Reilly, Layla Roberts, Randy Gillespie, Rita Blundon, Crystal Ali, Mel Whalen, Kelly Stokes and the Vey Family (Brett, John, Cavell). While there wasn�t a lot of variation in the individual basic compositions, genre-wise, at least half of the total compositions stood out either instrumentally or as worthwhile material for any recording artist to consider covering themselves. I�d like to make a mention of these, by volume number, below. On Volume 1, The Cape Road, I liked �Hills and Valleys�, �Thirty Day Fever� (his very first composition), �Dana Sings the Blues�, �Forty Seven�, �I Had a Dream�, �Song For Edie�. On Volume 2, The Magic Within, my favourites were �Music of the Heart�, �The Best Songs of Our Time� (a rockin� boogie number paying tribute to his musical heroes), �Blues Skies and Sunshine�, �The Magic Within�, �Mean to My Dreams� and �Friends and Neighbours�. On Volume 3, Celebration and Reflection, my preferred selections were �Jesse�, �Freedom�s Cry� (a tribute to Martin Luther King), �Forty Seven� (reprised from Volume 1), �Another Set Done� (which featured pedal steel guitar), �That�s What My Life Has Been�, �Miss You on the Rough Cuts�, and �You Turned my Life Around�. On Volume 4, Me and Ms. Taylor, he caught my attention with �We Made Love�, �Between Me and My Sleep�, �Me and Ms. Taylor� (a blues number), �My Dreams�, �Rose Upon the Stone�, �Chocolate� and �The Lyric Was Gone�. On Volume 5, Roll that Stone, the tracks that appealed to me were �This is My Rock�, Fly On, Fly On�, �Bad Deal in Memphis� (another tribute to Martin Luther King), �No More Grease or Brake-Jobs� and �Rostotski Blues� (named after photographer Sara Rostotski, whose photograph of Wayne won an award). While Wayne pays a tribute to Waylon Jennings on �Fly On, Fly On�, I could imagine someone like Kris Kristofferson, Kenny Rogers or Ronnie Hawkins doing justice to quite a few of these tracks, as most of them are suitable for baritone vocals. Not to be disrespectful of the enormous effort he has made in recording all of these songs, but in terms of marketing a more compact, presentable showcase for potential coverage by established recording artists, I would suggest Wayne re-issue a double CD with the selections I�ve highlighted above. That's just my personal opinion, of course, and is not a reflection on the quality of any of the other songs. Diane Wells |
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| Cover artwork for Volume 4 is not currently available. |
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