Anders Osborne
Coming Down
M.C. Records
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also available on cd universe
This eighth disc for this Swedish born singer is far and away his most complete effort in every way. All of the ten songs, either written or co-written by him, show his years of practice honing this elusive craft of songwriting have borne him ample fruits for his labors. The sound on this disc is stripped down with a spare instrumentation, basically guitar, drums, upright bass, keyboards, so that both Osborne's singing and the craft of his songwriting shine through. It is his singing that stopped our player on the first song as we thought the wrong disc was put in and we were listening to a new Van Morrison. This doesn't hold true for every song but there are a few where he can be mistaken for Van. This is not a knock on him because it is very reminiscent of the Van Morrison of Moondance (there are few better people to emulate, and it certainly adds a dimension to his music). There is that jazzy/bluesy feel that Van Morrison has, where he will stretch the word or repeat it until it becomes almost a mantra, this carries over to the music also. Plus his ability to tell the story moves along more
straightforwardly. He wants the stories his songs contain to be told and understood, and there is no attempt to be obtuse or use cloudy metaphors to muddy the landscape.
This is a disc that reflects on how he feels about several subjects, but strongly mirrors his great love of his adopted home city of New Orleans. Oh Katrina, is one of the strongest songs written about the affects of that hurricane on his home. It is a touching homage to the city. There are reflections here on his life, including the wild side of it that was also cause for some heartaches. There are some wonderful love songs for his life and the happiness he has achieved with his wife and the happiness she has brought to him. A strong disc that shows both growth and promise for the future.