There once was a time when you would hear a song and immediately be taken in by the poetical pictures the songwriter created. The great poets and lyricists like Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, Justin Hayward, James Taylor and many others, seem to be a dying breed. Listening to music nowadays, you'd be hard-pressed to hear any artists that believe lyricism is an art form. Yes, the words usually rhyme and have a semblance of meaning, but for the most part, words are thrown together just for the SAKE of rhyming. With the explosion of internet radio and music sites and armed with an inexpensive digital recorder, anyone can upload their music, regardless of the musical ability they may or may not possess. And with all the millions of songs flooding the net, originality has taken a back seat to being seen and heard. It's as if independent music sites are nothing more than blog sites. They are certainly becoming one and the same. Anyone can have an opinion and it seems that anyone can upload their music today. Right or wrong. Good or bad.
But there is some hope! I happened upon yet another site that promotes independent/unsigned artists and much to my surprise, I found a few of artists who were not only great songwriters, but they were artists that I would call bona fide poets. The songs that really made me feel and think the most were those of Jerald Wolf. His first solo CD entitled "Winter's Emptiness" is an emotional journey of heart-felt songs that are deeply thoughtful and a well textured mix of acoustica nd electric. The first song I listened to was "You're Gone". I was immediately taken in by the descriptive words and hypnotic tune. The opening lines are:
"Last night when I called you, you were gone; Gone back to a place you once called home. You went trying to find the pieces of yesterday's life; Trying to find somewhere to call your own."
From that point, I clung to every word. Jerald Wolf has a diverse and rich voice, full of emotional colors. The twelve song CD "Winter's Emptiness" is the emerging of a new songwriter/poet. The songs are as poetical as they are raw and sometimes cold. A great CD in all respects. Other new songwriters/poets to watch for are Anne Davis with her "Temple Of Contradictions", V.K. Lynnes' "Black Halo" and Deron Wade with his CD, "Somewhere Out There". These three artists also show signs of being the next generation of the poet/songwriter. We will always have Bob Dylan and Arlo Guthrie, but it's refreshing to hear artists like Jerald Wolf, Anne Davis, V.K. Lynne and Deron Wade and to know that true talent exists outside of the major labels.
Today, anyone can give an opinion or have their music on the internet, but there are only some that desreve to be heard.
Bob Ollman is an freelance, online music critic in NYC.