|
 CLAY CALLAWAY (SELF-RELEASE)
Rating lllll
Review by Simon Chan
Hawaiian warbler Clay Callaway has plucked up the courage to self-produce and release his own CD of his favourite songs.
It’s an eclectic mix of lesser-known cabaret and Broadway numbers (does anyone remember Kander/Ebbs’ Lauren Bacall vehicle, ‘Woman Of the Year’?
– there’s a ballad from that here), a couple of camp pop songs, and disconcertingly, some country and gospel ditties that don’t quite fit the album’s we’re-at-a-sophisticated-gay-lounge-act concept, unless Billy Ray Cyrus happened to skip in on a frock.
Callaway has a pleasant musical theatre-type voice, devoid of any Streisand-like histrionics that normally warp show tunes.
In fact, with his understated vocal performance, Callaway is a lot closer to Karen Carpenter than Mandy Patinkin, which is a relief. It’s a shame he’s been let down by some parts of the production.
‘Darn It, Baby…’ is clearly targeted at the gay male market, with its ‘guy singing songs originally intended for girls’, and a big spunky half-naked man on the front sleeve.
Lyrical gender-bending is no novelty, but a staple of pop. Think Rufus Wainwright’s ‘Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall’, The White Stripes’ eerie cover of Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’, or Kate Bush’s playful rendition of Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man’. It’s a galvanising trick, and it works for most of the CD.
However, some of the instrumental arrangements are weak. Callaway is at his best with just plain piano accompaniment, or with solo guitar, as on the surprisingly affecting ‘I’ve Grown Accustomed To Your Face’ (Lerner/Loewe).
We’re closest to what Callaway is really about on his best song, Wayne Moore’s touching ‘My Superman’: a beautiful ballad of humble appreciation, shaded with a hint of melancholy.
For those who simply yearn for a guy to sing a gentle love song to another guy, perhaps this album is for you.
 |
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
