Band:
David J Caron (All instruments)
Discography:
Debut
Guests:
Info:
David J Caron (producer)
Rob mancini (co-producer, Engineer)
Andy Mitchell (Mastering)
Bill Osborne (Cover Art)
Released 21/2-2012
Reviewed 16/12-2012
Links:
davidjcaron.com
youtube
reverbnation
last-fm
davidjcaron.com/wordpress
Another early issue I had with this album was the third track, Time Machine, which always ended prematurely with something that sounded like a cut of ending. But that turned out to be something my iTunes did and not an actual album flaw - probably because otherwise it would overheat from all the good music (or something?).
So with these issues solved here we are with a 28 track big and 2 1/2 hour long album from a debuting Irish guy, how good could it be? Well, I think Caron sets the bar for his future career pretty high with this album and history has thought us that this often ends with disappointment further in to the career, but some solo artists has succeeded well with this and it's just to glance a bit to the Dutch direction where the space-frenzy Arjen Lucassen has managed to make something really good on his first album in to something truly remarkable further ahead and as I listening to this debut from David J Caron I can't help thinking of solo artists like Lucassen, Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, Axel Rudi Pell and such - not because the music is particularly similar to any of these guys but because his will to go his own way and not take orders from anyone is quite alike these men. It would probably have been easier say had he had a band to juggle ideas around with or at least share the burden of writing and recording the album with. but he hasn't - and what Caron's done all on his own is quite remarkable. 'Thru Ever-Ending Black' is not only a long album with plenty of songs, it's also an album with very much good stuff!
Another thing I spent a lot of time wondering about with this album was the many cross-references to epic movies and television serieses. I thought I saw all sort of references to epic movies and shows in this music and curius as I am I spent some time digging through the lyrics to see wether or not I could confirm or discard this idea but the more I read of the lyrics the more confused I got… So I made it easy and asked Caron himself and he gave me a clear answer - the music was not related to any movie or television show, though it was meant to be epic, grand and deep and all that kind of stuff that the kind of films I thought of normally are. These are all just Carons own thoughts and imagination talking (of course probably somewhat inspired by many of the movies, television series' and stuff I thought of) and all eventual references that more than I found is just coincidence or at least not intentional. What got me really hooked on this idea in the first place though, I better mention that, is the many song titles and lyrical references to things in epic movies, just look at the track list and count how many of the titles that either has the same name as an epic movie or has a title very much relatable. The real thing, though, was the opening to the song Feels Of Fire that is insanely similar to the theme song for Twin peaks (and the fact that it also has the word "fire" in it - the main theme for Twin Peaks - didn't make anything to discard the idea). However, Carons insurance was enough for me to let the idea go though and I'm actually glad he hasn't done an album that thematize movies but an album where he himself has created the whole album - lyrics and themes as well - because that shows he's been using the old nogger and not just stolen great ideas from someone else - even though I doubt that it had made any difference at all on the overall result when all comes around.
So what kind of music is this "not-thematized-film-soundtrack" that we get to hear on Carons debut? Well, it's a sort of rock 'n' rolling AOR that's noticeable heavier than "normal" AOR but still AOR and somewhat grand and epic but without overdoing it on that subject. We can hear David lifp a bit when he sings and as he treats the big and serious subjects his lyrics are about (like the destiny, universe and all that) it all just sounds a bit like the smart old uncle talking to his nephews about the big important things - still very serious just a bit more child-adjusted. But kind old uncle Caron his Casio keyboard is still making his point well accompanied by electric guitars and drums, drums that Caron himself describes as "deliberately both misleadingly simple in places as well as perplexingly elaborate in others". Wether they are any of these or not is very easy to get an answer to - just listen to the album! But if you ask me I can't say it's either one way or the other, neither that Caron breaks any barriers either one way or the other, right or left - up or down, but what I do think is that this album is quite unique anyway. In a way it's pretty ordinary and sounds pretty much like these kind of albums does but without doing it in the same time. Because in a way it's extraordinary, Bio-luminescent, Uni-effervescent, Geo-stationary, Interplanetary and so on… It's an album that could be legendary and if it's not it's at least a fresh breeze of appreciated ideas, concept and composition that I've gladly received.
If you think it's taken me a lot of time to review this album it's because though the album was released already back in February I didn't get my copy of the album until October and since then I've played it about 16 times, which is a lot for a 2 1/2 hour long album but despite hearing about 40 hours of it over the past two months I've not lost interest - rather the opposite - and of the 28 tracks I think at least about 20 of them are able to blow you away (and the remaining ones are also very good). Had the album only been an hour, or so, shorter I think this could possibly have qualified for the first full point scorer of the year, but 2 1/2 hour are just too much. Half of it would have been enough - which is something I say not because of quality issues but because of the amount of what we get and most of it just isn't all too different from the rest so why couldn't he settled with one disc? Too me it's just not overflowing with occasions to play this much music at the same time, so why Caron chose to make it a double disc is a bit strange and therefore I'm a bit divided about this album all though mostly positive.
Instrumentally it's quite Spartan but what he's saved on amount of instruments used Caron returns in form of how he plays them. The beat and pace are held like babies held by over protecting parents and the melodies take a hold on you similar to the one cavemen took on cavewomens hair when they dragged them in to the cave where they mated. Regardless of you wanting to dig this or not, you'll head for the nearest shuffle and bang your head to the ground when you hear it. I'm not sure of which instrument Caron considers his main one, but he's handling everything from guitars to keyboards, sound effects, drums and such flawless. If we're to complain about something there's the work of the bass that is a bit weak and definitely could have been heavier or at least louder mixed. And the vocals are not perfect either, but not "unperfect" enough to disturb you. And the fact that the bass is as soft as it is might just mean it's approachable for a bigger audience, which is a good this as this music really deserves to be noticed. While Caron experiments around a bit it still sound mostly like hard rock usually does… but yet not. And it's that "yet not" that makes the difference and this album in to something really interesting.
Do you have plenty of time? Do you like epic, catchy music? Do you think it's charmy with a vocalist lisping a little bit? Well, then you and I are on the same page and then you, like I, will probably like this album (hopefully a lot)! One of too few gold nuggets from 2012 - make sure you'll get your hands on it!
HHHHHHH
