Regular Columnists

Artist: Bill Madden
Album: Gone
CD Review: Rhyme, rhyme, rhyme, rhyme…do we as songwriters have to rhyme? It’s a hotly debated topic around my kitchen table and my short answer is…most of the time. I don’t know, I think our brains are conditioned to hear songs with some sort of logical rhyming scheme. So…I had a wee bit of trouble with Bill Madden’s CD, Gone.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying I didn’t like it. The production is quite unique, like an old Moody Blues record with Madden’s interesting vocals. The poetry of his words is all over the CD; he is most definitely a poet. But….

It was cool for the first few tracks, then the sameness of the production wore thin. I was tired of the uniqueness. It lost me. It seemed to take a long time for Madden to get to the point. And titles were buried deep in the lyrics. That’s a whole other discussion. Why do we call songs certain things? What’s the purpose of the title? Is it just a title and need have nothing to do with the song? I think titles are everything. They set up the listener for what’s to come…the anticipation.

Madden has lots to say. His press materials call him...”a powerful independent socio-political voice.” That’s quite a moniker. Madden certainly takes on subjects like profit and greed, corrupt governments, killing for oil…big topics. But…I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. I wanted to be drawn into the pathos of the human condition without the unusual production values. Give me a stripped down Bob Dylan political satire any day. He was a master of poetical songwriting.

Madden is released by MadMuse. He’s an interesting songwriter. The CD is unique. You may like it, you may not.

For more info on Bill Madden, his website is www.billmadden.com or e-mail madmuse@comcast.net.