The veteran singer-songwriter adds some drama and some muscle to
his latest. Desiring a fuller production, Aymar brought on the esteemed
Michael Phillip Wojewoda, and the results are exciting. The songs, rich
stories in themselves, are beefed up with mysterious guitars, deep
drums, strings, and lots of cool vocals. Aymar even delivers some
spoken-word parts to heighten the book-on-tape feel. Elsewhere, guest
singers Chloe Charles, Alejandra Ribera and Shakura S'aida do what they
do very well, standout vocal parts.
Even the
acoustic tracks get a boost. The Greatest Story Never Told starts out
with Aymar and guitar, always a good thing in itself, but takes off by
the second verse. The one-man orchestra, string arranger Drew Jurecka,
brings in the atmosphere, and Charles duets, adding a touch of sadness.
Us Wild Dogs is another half-spoken number, with barest guitar, but now
turned into a campfire Western, with warbled voices joining in. The darker
duet with Ribera, Alive In The Shadows, starts like a Leonard Cohen
song and builds to a huge climax, with the strings and singers raising
in volume in a thrilling conclusion. Then out of nowhere comes a funky
groove with a synth and distorted guitar called Always Had You, which
might get Aymar kicked out of the folk collective.
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