mixtape songs /

I can’t and don’t claim to be a musician, I can’t and don’t claim to be a music connoisseur, I can’t play music and I don’t know what’s cool in music (until Dustin tells me about it, that is). What I can claim is Brett Dennen’s album, So Much More, really is so much more better than any other album I have heard in a so much longer while than ever!

I must add, that being cut off from music, also means I’m cut off from the radio and “music TV” with all those flashy, noisy, fast moving pictures. The reason I’m telling you this is, Brett Dennen; I couldn’t tell you if he is on the radio or MTV or Much Music, or if he is some singer-songwriter that is well known in the singer-songwriter crowd…I just don’t know.

I can and am telling you however, that I first heard Ain’t No Reason as the closing credit track on Tuesday night’s House M.D. episode, and no sooner had that first contraction spilled forth from the TV speakers, in the broken, modestly crackling voice of Mr. Dennen, than I instantly felt the goosebumps. The goosebumps on the back of my neck, down my arms, that’s my way of knowing…it was that good. How’s that for an intro?

So, I naturally got my hands on a copy of the album the next day, going into it thinking,”If the song I heard on the TV was that good, I will most likely be disappointed with the rest of the album”, it’s just not possible to make two (or more) songs that good on the same album (and yes, I am that pessimistic). Also naturally, if you set your hopes low, you’re bound to be impressed. Impressed, I was not. Impressed no, blown away, yes.

If you were to take the soothing, rich sounding, smooth voice of Ben Harper, the catchy acoustic tunes of Matt Costa and Jack Johnson, and the eerily intriguing voice of Tracy Chapman and have them all jump into a single transporter beam on the Starship Enterprise at the exact same moment, you would have a hideously disfigured mutant come out the other end. Instead of a garbled, gurgling, monstrous voice like you would expect from such an abomination, you hear the angelic song of Brett Dennen spew forth. Song after song, this musical mutant has your ears held captive, being held captive like the scantily clad alien hotty that Captain James T. Kirk must save, post portal.

Seriously, if you even slightly enjoy acoustic, singer-songwriter music of the previously mentioned artists, do yourself a favour and listen to this album. Here, I will make it easy on you, have a myspace link, with music samples. If nothing else, take a listen to Ain’t No Reason, and if you at least, at very least, don’t think, “damn, this IS catchy”, send me your email address and I will PayPal you one, shiny, Canadian, dollar*…I have that much faith in this guy.

Don’t let my cheesy metaphors and over-enthusiastic descriptions of Brett Dennen discourage you from checking him out, I am completely serious about liking his music. I think he has the qualities of a star, and could make it big if he wanted to. If he doesn’t want to, consider yourself lucky to be one of the exclusive listeners of one of the most feel good artists to come around for years, pass his name along to those who can appreciate him as such.