Regular Columnists

Artist: Bill Colgate
Album: "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth"
CD Review: Bill Colgate might not have the cure for cancer, but his honest, soulful songwriting has the potential to heal a world suffering from insipid popular music.

While Colgate's songs mainly seem to fall into a country/gospel vein, there is genuine rock there too, plus a good dash of blues and jazz. The mix of Colgate's husky, expressive, Tom Waits-style voice and pastoral, melodic piano a la Bruce Hornsby, with a strong, blue-collar Springsteen feel (the Boss is mentioned by name in one of the songs) creates a unique listening experience.

Colgate scores with both uptempo and slower material. "Stuck Here in the Blues" and "Freight Train Roll" both feature tight, funky grooves that make you want to dance, while "Hockey Night" evokes feelings of regret and loss of innocence and "Hate That Train" has a passionate angst for love lost that is guaranteed to make even the most jaded listener stop and think.

Some of the material doesn't quite measure up. "Crushed" seems to try to hard to be witty, its infectious jazz feel notwithstanding, and "I Got The Rhythm" is catchy but lacks the depth or intensity of some of the other songs; it is not a strong leadoff track.

Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this CD and hope to hear more from Bill Colgate in short order. For more information about Colgate, visit www.billcolgate.com.