Saturday 10 March 2018

David Munyon - Planetary Nights, album review

Munyon Meaningfulness

A new collection from the wonderful David Munyon, the grizzled singing of beautiful songs, lyrically affecting in their honesty and world-weary insights, from the politically ironic reflections of Make America Great Again to the tender memories of From Me to You.

These are everyman narratives mapping out our lives across mainly sweet, finger-picked guitar – go back to Make America Great Again and listen to the invocations of what really matters, the hopefulness in simple promises of attending church [believe or not, this cultural reality] and the search for approbation from Mom and Dad. It isn’t all plaintive, and the quick blues of Headin For The Temple, Runnin From… presents Munyon in fine voice.

Slow Night Train to Freedom addresses refugees/otherness, the souls and tears of living life in hope and fear: don’t it break your heart/don’t you give a damn/what if it was your daughter or son are heartfelt questions in the lyric. Las Vegas Money and Rain Woman Blues are further cool blues to vary the mood, reminding us that good Americana has a wide sweep. And this is good, very good.

The album closes on penultimate Inside the Wind which is poetically and musically gorgeous, and the final title track is similarly pretty and, again, honest – love grows old, shoes wear out, nights grow cold – where the me and you of the song still have hearts on fire in the planetary nights and cosmic truths of living. There is wit – Chevrolets are good, Mercedes are better: it all depends on the money you spend – and this is the summation of living, from the earthbound to the cosmic.

A great album. 

Read more of my reviews of his work here



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