REVIEW: Glen Scott, Without Vertigo (550 Music)
- Jon Steltenpohl
He stands nearly ready to jump, his dark, soul searching face peering out from a white turtle neck with a white jacket and white pants against a background of white sky and seagulls. He is Glen Scott, and his album, Without Vertigo stands out also. Like the seagulls he's pictured with, he isn't all that different. But, if you look closer, you can see he's pointing a different direction than the rest of the flock.
Glen Scott seems a lot like that. Although he grew up as the preacher's son and got snared into the choir at a young age, the church was in the U. K. instead of the states, and so Scott's pedigree features a different kind of soul than is typically found in the states. Instead of Al Green or Stevie Wonder, Scott is like Seal or Terrence Trent D'Arby, where R&B is just one aspect of his music. Discordant harmonies and intriguing lyrics out of D'Arby's song book are set against engaging rhythms and convincing vocals that are the hallmark of Seal's work.
But most often, in a strange, unexpected way, Scott shows a strong affinity with the music of Peter Gabriel. His poignant vocals and his use of layered rhythms and background voices very much recalls the work of Gabriel during the early 80's. He is a perfectionist in the area of perfection, and he knows how to take seemingly simple and abstract sounds and put them together in a touching and beautiful way.
When he gets it right, the effect of Scott's music is simply perfect. It is catchy enough to sing along to and meaningful enough not to be bubble gum pop. On the title track, "Without Vertigo," Scott starts out with a simple slow sound effect of a quiet subway station and then a walking piano beat. His voice comes in with a whispered confession about the toll stress has taken on his life. Eventually the song moves through twists and turns, peaks and valleys of swirling strings and a signal call of beats and scratches. Scott layers his voice multiple times into haunting echoed harmonies and fills the background with Joe Cocker flairs.
When he gets it wrong, because he's going off the deep-end like Terence Trent D'Arby or its because he's out-perfecting himself. On "My World," the song might as well be off of any D'Arby's albums. It is mysterious and filled with a bizarre soul touch of exotic chords, abstract beats, impassioned falsetto. Lyrics like "Fruit cakes and battle plans/why did Pilate wash his hands" are typical of the song. Depending on your feeling's about D'Arby's music, this is either incredibly annoying or incredibly intense.
On "A Piece of my Heart," Scott gives us his best work. It is a quiet love song that reassures a distant friend or lover. "Take a piece of my heart," implores Scott, "Make it all your own/So when we're apart/You'll never be alone/never be alone." Set against a small section of expressive strings and acoustic guitar, Scott's tender voice is perfect. Unfortunately, the desire for studio perfection leads Scott to kind of botch the song at the end. He closes with a voice box harmony that complements his a closing line about "the coldest winter" which ends in a strange chord that settles out uneasily as the song fades. It's done impeccably well, but leaves you with a slightly odd taste.
On the whole, Without Vertigo is an impressive album from newcomer Glen Scott. His skill in the studio and, his ability to make singable melodies bode well for the future. The only question is whether, like Peter Gabriel, he will get better with age, or like Terence Trent D'Arby, he will spiral down into a stranger and more abstract sound.
