THE CLOSING OF THE PALE BLUE EYES

This is one of the weird circumstances where I know the music in question is quality stuff, but I just don't enjoy it that much. By 'quality,' I mean that the music is sincere and emotional in nature. While it's completely understood that 'Pale Blue Eyes' was not trying to be meticulously arranged and complex, a little bit more variety in the timbre and sound panel might have done wonders.

My first introduction to John Wesley's solo work was 'Shiver,' which crosses me as having both the intelligence and emotional resonance to make it a gem. It might just be my musical background, but an unplugged performance doesn't feel so interesting when it's strapped this bare. The lyrics are thought-provoking for the most part, and some songs (most specifically, the first track 'Right Here Beside Me') work wonderfully without any production tweaks, but a lot of the songwriting doesn't feel as mature or involved as stuff Wesley has done on other records, like the one I've already mentioned.

In any case, John does a very good job of actually performing his pieces. His voice is very down to earth and sincere; and while a lot of the songwriting doesn't lend to musical showboating, the few solos he does here and there show he is a brilliant guitarist.

Perhaps with a few more listens, the album will grow- it is not necessarily bad at all. It just feels like with a few tweaks to the songs and maybe a piano thrown into the mix would have made for a much more enjoyable experience.

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