REVIEW: Daniel Cartier, Avenue A (Rocket)
- Bob Gajarsky
Greenwich Village recording artist Daniel Cartier offers up a slice of the Big Apple on his debut record, Avenue A.
Cartier is the latest in a string of performers who have gotten their lucky break by busking in the city's endless subway system. His debut album, Live From New York The Subway Session (Ignition) was recorded in the Canal Street subway station using only his acoustic guitar and percussion.
Cartier employs vocals which cross somewhere between the late Jeff Buckley and Live's Ed Kowalczyk, especially on the leadoff single "I Decided" and "Lay With Me". The rockers could have been pulled from Live's more upbeat rock songs, while "Won't You Talk To Me Tonight" owes much to Roy Orbison and the country-rock genre. And though his tattooed forehead might make some think he's an angry punk rocker, Cartier instead demonstrates his skills as a rock storyteller on Avenue A .
For example, the title track is not only autobiographical, but representative of thousands who flock to New York's East Village. 'If I walk down to Avenue A / Is it gonna change the way that I feel? / And if I walk down to Avenue A / Are you gonna take my dreams and make them real?' sings Cartier, echoing the questions many have long asked.
The remainder of the disc echoes common themes that run deep in all of us - love, and the pursuit of dreams and happiness - but through the eyes of a New Yorker, rather than someone in a rural region. So the problems of getting reflective while high ("Last Weekend") are addressed here in a way that squarely addresses reality. Much like life in Avenue A.
