CD REVIEW: Hank Harris – “Fantasyland”
By Stacey Board - 11/13/2002 - 09:53 PM EST
Artist: Hank Harris Album: “Fantasyland” CD Review:
“Fantasyland” spans a range of musical approaches and does it well. The title track is one of the strongest tracks in my opinion. It does a great balancing act between sounding sweet and sounding ominous and it perfectly translates the feeling he’s trying to get across.
Harris has compiled quite a list of instruments that are played throughout the songs, including several horns, keyboards, a glockenspiel, melodica, triangle, and a chair. That short list gives you an idea of the musical variety you will hear on this CD.
“Make Believe” and “When The Spirit Moves” are more soulful with horns and keys adding a lot to the R&B feel. Jeremy Hegg creates some strong arrangements and really lends to their groove. “When The Beast Unwinds” has a ‘bad trip’ kind of unsettled mood, with a spooky trumpet that sounds great.
He also has a sense of humor which is evident on many of the tracks, such as “Forever”, and especially “15 minutes”. The latter song is a wonderful ‘I’m breaking up with you’ song to play for someone should you need one. It comes complete with a bouncy reggae beat to add to the feeling of triumph.
“Fantasyland” is a very interesting musical journey through Hank Harris’ head and heart.
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