Duncan Sheik - “Duncan Sheik”
Tracks:
- She Runs Away
- In the Absence of Sun
- Barely Breathing
- Reasons for Living
- Days Go By
- Serena
- Out of Order
- November
- Home
- The End of Outside
- Little Hands
Another great find thanks to that old radio station in Windsor, Ontario that was known as “The River.” “Barely Breathing” saw some airplay on other radio stations as well, but became a staple for some time on 93.9 FM. I have always loved this album, his debut. It is filled with some of the best songwriting and arranging I have heard in a long time.
Essentially Duncan Sheik’s style is in the singer/songwriter vein. Though there are a few songs that are more upbeat, the album overall is pretty mellow, and probably the biggest reason I like it as much as I do.
Lyrically this album is light years ahead of a lot of material these days. There is a good mix of emotions that Sheik runs through. Though with his solemn delivery they come across at times as sad some times. Some of the songs have a rather haunting quality to them. Adding to that is the beautiful string arrangements that appear in a few songs. Another attribute that I think helps this album is Sheik’s voice. He is a good singer, and though his timbre seems higher, most of the time his singing would qualify him as a baritone. Very cool in my book, seeing as I am a baritone.
The album was produced by Rupert Hine, who co-produced a few albums for Rush during the same time. It is interesting to hear the differences between the two, giving me the thought that Hine seems to be the kind of producer that gives the artist a lot of room to explore and be themselves.
As for the songs, there are some really catchy tunes here. “Barely Breathing” has to be one of the catchiest songs I have ever heard without it sounding like utter pop crap. It has a great singer/songwriter quality to it, but could easily get teeny-bopper pop-lovers bouncing to it. Other stand-out tracks are “She Runs Away”, “Serena”, “Out of Order”, and “The End of Outside”.
I would say that this album would appeal to fans of Jeff Buckley, or fans of any of the singer/songwriter types out there. Great stuff!
January 21st, 2006 at 3:53 pm
[…] At the time I first heard this album, I was really stuck on Duncan Sheik’s debut album, another singer/songwriter. It flowed so well and had some excellent songs. This one made me quickly forget about Sheik’s album. Though I still love that one since it was one of my favorites as POSTED earlier. But there is so much in Buckley’s album that it would make even the staunchest critic stand up and recognize this as an incredible piece of work. […]