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Artist: Paul Winn
Album: Paul Winn
CD Review: There is a sadness in Paul Winn's self-titled CD, a melancholy that runs through the songs that left me feeling reflective and a little let down. Don't get me wrong, Winn is certainly an accomplished musician and good lyric writer, it's just the overall tone of the CD.

He starts off well with a great number called The Game. Fortunate Man, the second track is the most pop driven melody on the CD. It's been getting a fair bit of attention, ending up on a couple of compilation CDs and will most likely get airplay. Leave It To Fate is a nod to Winn's influences, the Police and Sting. There's no doubt Winn identifies with Sting, his vocal style and some of his writing clearly echo Sting's work. I wanted to hear a little more uniqueness from Winn, a little more of what makes him tick and a little less Sting.

From that point on, the CD turns inward, maybe a little too much so. It became deeply personal and sad. I was lost and tuning out. Though the musicianship is excellent, there's nothing that jumps out at me and says WOW! I wanted some relief, a bridge, a chord lift, a new direction, a new tune, a pause...something to ease the song structures. There was a lot of continuous repetition and I needed something more.

Winn writes well, his images are clear and clean, most notably on "Taylor", a song he co-wrote with Marcel Bracks. I just wanted a little more "oomph". You can check him out at www.paulwinn.com.