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Deep Calls 2 Deep CD Review
Doug Powell
Progressive Rock is a dangerous thing. There are far too many examples of overly-serious musicians who create technically adept, yet pompous and arrogant music that comes across mainly as an exercise in self-adulation. It is a world where notes are often valued for their speed alone, and time signatures are valued only for their complexity. All too frequently, the end-product fails to escape hard, cold mathematical patterns and is unable to embody that ineffable element that speaks to the whole person and not just the intellect. Certainly, there are notable successes that are worth celebrating. And Greg Wollan’s latest cd can be added to that list.
Deep Calls 2 Deep is an artful declaration of Wollan’s worldview that is self-consciously contrary to the disposable fare that is the contemporary musical scene. Like Bach before him, Wollan, at least figuratively, signs every piece Soli Deo Gloria, to God alone be the Glory. And his hope is that in excellence there will be accessibility. In many ways his ability to combine complexity and accessibility makes him a kindred spirit with people like Trevor Rabin or Kevin Gilbert. Both created excellent, melodic prog rock that retained a singer/songwriter quality to it at the same time. The ability to write songs and not just string a bunch of cool parts together is what made their music able to speak to the whole person. And this is Wollan’s strength as well
Wollan’s canvas is full of lush, tight chords that are designed to invoke yearning, a sense of the already and not-yet aspect of Christianity. This is the perfect container for Wollan’s theme of “the splendor that awaits us.” The rich harmonies that are featured on many of the songs such as Gardens of Green, City on a Hill, and More than Conquerors recall the best of Todd Rundgren’s soulful progressive music of the mid 70’s. This is particularly true of More than Conquereors which has all the frenetic joy of Todd’s Inititiation. Wollan also conjures up Todd’s wonderful guitar tone and warm vibrato to create solos that sing just as much as any vocal part.
But this record is in no way a derivative Todd-fest. Wollan draws from the best of the genre and finds his own niche within it. The palette at times includes flue, violin, and guest female vocalists. And Wollan very effectively uses slide guitar to evoke a plaintive mood when it is necessary. On the title track, Wollan creates a wonderful, Yes-like arrangement on the chorus that features matching guitar and keyboard lines that create just enough ornamentation. Another stand-out is the darker Shut My Mouth. The verses have a dusky menace that casts shadows of Peter Gabriel before breaking into a more hopeful and redeeming chorus. And the whole record ends with the optimistic benediction of Darkness Fades, a track that could be at home on Genesis’ And Then There Were Three.
Really there is only one misstep on the cd, and it has nothing to do with the quality of the pieces themselves. Rather, it is a pacing issue: there seems to be about two too many songs on the record. The middle of the disc has a series of songs that don’t seem to be complemented by the songs around them. For example, the mellower My Own Country follows Deep Calls to Deep really well but is not a good set up for Day of Reckoning. Reckoning initially continues the slow pace, but by the time it gets upbeat, the doldrums has been sowed. This is not to say the piece is sub-par, but in the sequence it serves to bog down the plot a bit. The same is true for the next piece Willow of April. If those two pieces were removed, the disc has all the right push and pull to keep the listener fully engaged.
The main thing that comes across in the record, however, is its authenticity. For all the reference points that have been mentioned, Wollan is being completely true to himself as an artist and as a human being. Given his talent, this combination is irresistible for those who like to be challenged as listeners and have their hearts engaged as well as their minds. Deep Calls to Deep lives up to its title and gives us a very deep well to drink from.
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