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CD REVIEW: Dale Rasmussen - Raven's Wing
By Jane Eamon - 12/30/2005 - 03:00 PM EST
Artist: Dale Rasmussen
Album: Raven's Wing
CD Review:
Picture this – a dark café with smoky jazz and a cool guitar. Samba rhythms playing around the edges and a voice entwining them both. Picture this - love lost and café Diablos while crying. An ache in the heart hoping for the last dance. Picture this - rain streaming down the windowpane and dreams of love. Love you’ve had and love you hope to have.
After listening to Dale Rasmussen’s CD, Raven’s Wing, I found myself thinking all these things. A beautiful voice like Eric Clapton, this Vancouverite writes very well. The arrangements are sparse and well executed, and his songs are lovely. The CD boasts 10 songs, 6 originals, 3 co-writes and one by Stephen Foster. Rasmussen is a master musician, a music teacher in real life, playing a wide variety of instruments and playing them well.
I loved Little Old Dogs, pretty much the most upbeat song on the CD. I would have liked more of that. Its tongue-in-cheek humour was refreshing and a respite from the introspection and reflection that peppers the rest of the CD. Don’t get me wrong, the songs on the CD are excellent but I would have liked to see Rasmussen mix it up a little more.
Take Me For a Slow Dance is a great hurtin’ song. Only See Your Smile has a beautiful line…”heading into the place where my face wears a frozen smile.” What a great way to describe a humdrum workplace.
My only advice? I would love to hear Rasmussen play with other genres. A little Delta blues or some swing blues jazz. He’s got the voice and I’m sure he’s got the chops. And one more little nit-picky thing, before releasing the CD, make sure the lyrics listed match what is actually being sung. Someone once told me that you need to proof your CD a minimum of 6 times!! A little thing, but something that makes that all-important credibility that much clearer.
Overall, I’d say Raven’s Wing is a good CD debut. Rasmussen has talent and skill; I would like to be wowed.
You can check out Dale Rasmussen at www.dalerasmussen.com or by e-mail at razzmusic@telus.net.
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