Wildy's World Review of "Growing a Garden"
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by Stuart McNair - 2/28/2010 9:48:43 PM
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Growing a Garden CD Cover
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Stuart McNair - Growing A Garden
2008, Stuart McNair
Birmingham,
Alabama based Stuart McNair explores traditional Country music themes
and values as well as Earth-friendly topics on his debut CD, Growing A Garden. Recorded live, in-studio with just McNair, his guitar and harmonica, listening to Growing A Garden
is like having McNair over for a house concert. The organic feel of the
album and the honest, down-home songwriting and performance lend a
certain charm to the 18 songs presented here.
Growing A Garden opens with The Birds Were Like A Symphony,
a song of appreciation for the beauty of nature, and the way that the
Earth around us every day can surprise us when we simply take the time
to notice. McNair's voice is strong and clear and has a rugged beauty
to it. Man On A Mission has an autobiographical element to
it, explaining perhaps, why McNair makes music. There's a great classic
folk sound here and McNair reminds me heavily of David Matheson on this
song. Somewhere In The Middle is a personal favorite,
probably the best "opposites attract" song I've heard. I guarantee you
there will be couples out there that claim this song as their own. It's
not a humorous song, per se, but you can't help but chuckle at some of
the truths unveiled here.
Don't Worry is a highly
positive message set to music; a song about change and being yourself
and letting the big things settle themselves out. It's not an
invitation to disengage from life, rather one to engage and let the
tides come and go ("One day I decided to be free/One day I decided to
be me/One day I finally took my place/not ashamed to wear a smile on my
face/and you'll be smiling a lot when you get the word / God loves
every dog, cat, fish and bird/He walks right beside you and you've
never been apart/so don't worry, worry, worry too much with your pretty
little heart.") Hearts Don't Lie speaks to the inner voice that we sometimes call our heart and how it never lets people down even when they fail to listen.
You Need To Be Danced With
is destined for mix-tapes everywhere. Don't be surprised if this song
gets licensed for Television or Movies, as it is probably one of the
most romantic love songs I've heard. As is it could be a hit on country
radio and quite possibly cross over to pop radio as well. Grow The Garden
is all about tending the future through the actions of today, and could
be applicable to personal growth, societal growth or even growth in a
relationship. It's a beautiful song and well delivered. Didn't Know You Then is a powerful song about forgiveness and accepting people for who they are and not necessarily for who they once were. Walking With Jesus
has the feel of a modern folk hymn; more of a story song than what
passes for contemporary Praise music. The most interesting aspect of
McNair's music may be the role that faith plays in his songs. It's
obvious that faith is a large part of McNair's mindset, and he sings
about it as he feels moved in his songwriting in much the same way that
James Taylor sings about love; it just happens to be what's on his
mind. Be sure also to check out You Make Me Smile, I'll Be Back, Eating Me and How YOU Do It.
Stuart
McNair is an honest songwriter who writes what he knows. There's no
attempt to put forth a persona here, McNair is what he is, take it or
leave it. The image that comes across is a singer/songwriter who is
happy with his lot in life; happy with who he is, and happy to share
his stories with any who will listen. McNair touches on elements of
life, love, faith and our communion with nature. How McNair isn't
highlighting major folk festivals across North America I don't know,
but I suspect the time will come. In simple, straight-forward fashion,
McNair has created an album that should establish him as one of the
best young talents in folk music, bar none. Growing A Garden is a Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc, and highly recommended to anyone who will listen.
Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)
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Wildy's World Review of "Climbing a Mountain"
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by Stu - 1/5/2010 1:28:53 AM
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Here is our first press for 2010. It's the first review of "Climbing a Mountain",
and it's pretty positive. This same reviewer gave a glowing review of my last CD,
"Growing a Garden".
Stuart McNair - Climbing A Mountain
2009, Stuart McNair
Stuart McNair returns with his latest creation, Climbing A Mountain.
The gentle Country/Rock provocateur charms with 14 songs full of
Country, Bluegrass, Zydeco, Rock and a bit of North Carolina picking.
It's the follow-up to McNair's 2008 debut, Growing A Garden, and is guaranteed to get your feet moving, get you thinking and even make you laugh a little.
Climbing A Mountain opens with the upbeat Country/Pop of Ways Of Nature,
an imagining of what the world looked like without the influence of
mankind stamped all over it. It's a catchy melody wrapped around a bit
of populist/Green poetry that is likely to have a lot of appeal. Somewhere In The Middle
is a classic "opposites attract" song played in a classic-style Country
arrangement. The song is fresh enough to maybe get some play from
commercial Country radio, but would definitely play well to folks who
still remember what Country music was all about before it became a
sub-genre of Pop music. McNair pulls out a party song in Out Of Your Mind, perfect for the Honky-Tonk or concert. Out Of Your Mind is the sort of song that crowds will sing along with, likely yelling joyously along to the chorus.
Sleeping Dog
goes the Punk/Country route with a message about ending war. It's a
catchy, upbeat tune with attitude that's a great listen although it
doesn't really say anything we haven't all heard before. Love And Affection
tackles the human need for more than just a place to sleep or someone
to sleep next to; it's a positive message in song but a bit repetitive
at the end. Don't Drop The Bomb might be anti-war or just
anti-nuclear war, but is a fair re-capitulation of the sort of
sentiments common in the 1980's. The song straddles the line between
Country and Roots Rock and is very catchy but also bears on the
repetitive side. McNair takes us into the path of a tempest on Season Of The Hurricane, and then shows us the aftermath, New Orleans style, on Make Levees, Not War.
Both songs are strong entries, but McNair breaks into full Zydeco mode
for the latter; a highly entertaining song that tries to make the most
out of the least. On Freedom, McNair sings a song with
patriotic themes that questions just who's in charge and what are they
doing? It's an apropos political message in a catchy musical
arrangement. McNair closes with Walking With Jesus, a mild, gospel-flavored tune that's enjoyable but doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the album stylistically.
Stuart McNair steps forward with a strong effort on Climbing A Mountain. While perhaps not as much of a standout as last year's Growing A Garden, Climbing A Mountain
will go over well with existing fans. McNair's voice is pleasant and
true as always, and his songwriting is generally quite strong. Climbing A Mountain does gentrify a bit as the album progresses but is still a strong representation of the sort of music McNair is full off. Climbing A Mountain is a solid effort worth spending some time on.
Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)
You can learn more about Stuart McNair at www.myspace.com/stuartmcnair. You can purchase Climbing A Mountain as either a CD or Download from CDBaby.com.
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