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FRIENDS album review
(c) April 2005
John McKeon - his voice is such a
treat. For quite a few years I've
found myself interested in mostly
"strange" bands and alternative music;
I've listened to some of the noisiest sounds that
are out there.
Consequently over many years I've avoided the
softer or more pop style artists, and it's not
until recent years that I've found my tastes have
softened somewhat and that I enjoy the subtler
and more tasteful songs.
Even back in 1990 I remember a few albums that I
always enjoyed and had that one special beautiful
and mellow track; the subtle music is what works
the best.
As I understand the beginning, Lynn contacted
John (October 2000) when she noted a request on a
forum where John had a piece of his guitar work
and wanted help in transcribing from MP3 to
MIDI. He was pleased with her work when she
contributed, and they shared other songs, and
they continued until they had written and
recorded a collection of songs that was to become
FRIENDS.
The music and voice of John McKeon has
contemporary flair but does reveal roots in
artists from the past, some that I've known and
some that I'm less familiar with and yet I know
for certain have a universal appeal because of
radio play from the last 25 years.
Yes, I remember the songs and artists that I
heard as far back as the seventies when I was a
kid getting my dad to drop me off at school with
his radio playing. John's words and
his voice remind me of something that I SHOULD
remember and yet the songs are all from the
creativity of he and Lynn.
FRIENDS may better have been titled FRIENDSHIP
because the songs are about friendship. I live
here in the States and I always will, so I had a
feeling that some might associate the title with
the popular TV show. No harm there, the
show is one of the most popular here from the
past 10 or 11 years.
FRIENDS includes a versatile and fantastic
selection of songs. The music is eclectic,
true, but the slower songs on the album have
brought to mind the high point of a concert when
an artist or the songwriter will step up to the
stage, without the band, and play a few songs
just as they might have been written: with
guitar and voice. My hope is that
when John performs live (he's said to be very
modest and shy) that he will play quite a few
songs or a portion of his set that is just that,
a set of songs to highlight his own
voice. I certainly hope someday I can
see John perform these very songs and that I'll
have the privilege to hear just a few tracks that
way: his voice and guitar.
ON THE PRODUCER -
Lynn as well is a talented musician and she's the
creative sort of person you might expect to
encounter at the library, or working for a
publishing house. Lynn is outspoken
and articulate, as well as a fine poet or
songwriter (songs are generally really just
poetry set to music, at least in the case of many
true artists). Perhaps John does have
skills in the studio as far as getting the
instruments and his voice to sound right, but
Lynn has contributed her own kind of magic and
skill in highlighting all of the best things that
there were to hear in John's voice and the
nuances of his guitar and playing.
Stephen Blotner
Freelance writer and Alternative Music Critic.
Northeast Texas
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