A Review of the CD
"Last Bus Home"
by Brett Perkins

"Last Bus Home"
by Brett Perkins

Works of Heart 090762
1441 Huntington Dr., 1950
South Pasadena, CA 91030
PMB 1950
ph: (626) 568-5995
http://www.brettperkinspresents.com/ and
mailto:brett@brettperkinspresents.com and
http://www.folkweb.com/brettperkins/index.php3

This review is written by Kevin McCarthy, 10/01
mailto:celticfolkmusic@icogitate.com
"Kevin and Maxine’s Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews"
http://www.icogitate.com/~celticfolkmusic/index.html

Connections, the ties that bind, healthy and otherwise, dominate the writing of Brett Perkins. From the soulful "Staring At The Sun" to the pleaful "Just Like Me," Perkins illuminates the good and the bad, as well as the missed opportunities involving lovers, family members, professions and society in general.

Blinded by our obsessions with the ultimately unimportant, Perkins, in the opening cut, "Staring At The Sun," sings:

"...and do you see the storm that's coming?
do you think that it's too late?
are you blinded by your love?
or by your ignorance and hate?

and do you think you're the only one?
the only one who's thought to hesitate?
or felt your life had come undone?
while you were staring at the sun?"

Accepting the chance to love despite the obstacles in "The World Turns Around," he shrugs off warnings from friends and family that long distance relationships rarely last:
"...From Denmark to California
come friendly words 'just trying to warn you'
'these things rarely turn out like you plan'
but we took the risk, just like when we began..."
Ultimately, the pairing does fail, but with this philosophical salve for the wounds:
"...but this life I chose is travel
so as the miles unravel
I've learned to take my loving when it shows
but it hurts me just the same to watch you go..."
The popish "When I Close My Eyes" has an enjoyable early Beatles sound and  feel to it.

"My New York Memory" is a love letter to Gotham City:

"...but I can see her bigger, brighter skies
and all of me, when I look down from her heights, so high
it's like something made in dreams..."

"...she is angry, she is ailing, she is everything
I ever hope to be
and she know the words to every lovers language
in a voice that speaks to me..."

In the plaintive and touching "Last Bus Home," Perkins sings of having no fixed point or inner compass in life. Looking about at the other passengers on board, he offers:
"...people like me don't heed no direction
there's no real place we call home
you might catch our eye at a crossroad sometime
then we're gone..."
Offering insight into the need to feel connected to both others and to something greater than ourselves, Perkins closes out the release with  "Always Believed In You" and "Just Like Me." In the former, he observes:
"and everywhere I go, seems like everyone's just searching
for some comfort and release
found through their ways of worship
words of wisdom to inner peace..."

"...and all these dreams I've known
they are just echoes of a common hope
for a sacred heart saying 'you are not alone...'

"Just Like Me' concludes with this startling imagery:
"...man on a cross says 'I'm bleeding'
'Father, will they ever be heeding?'
'and will they ever know what love truly means?'
'I'm not the only'
'I know they're lonely'
'Just like me.'
This is genuinely introspective singer-songwriter material. Material, in musical form, exploring some of the major spiritual and philosophical questions of human life.

Perkins, on vocals and acoustic guitar, is backed by Annette Bjergfeldt and Dayna Kurtz on harmony vocals; Nicholas Findsen on bass; Jesper Rytkov on drums and percussion; and Therease Anderson on violin.

Track List:

All songs written by Brett Perkins, unless otherwise noted.

Copyright © 1998-2008 Kevin & Maxine’s Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews. All rights reserved.

Ownership, copyright and title of this folk music CD review belongs to me, Kevin McCarthy. Ownership, copyright and title are not transferable or assignable to you or other parties regardless of how or if you or other parties use, copy, save, backup, store, retrieve, transmit, display, publish, modify or share the CD review in whole or in part. Please read the "Terms, Conditions and Disclaimer" section on my web site for additional information about using, quoting, or reprinting this CD review.

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