Derrin Nauendorf – The Rattling Wheel (Rising Records).
This is Derrin’s first album with a full band and he continues to improve and deliver his songs in a different way. Universe Demands is one of two new songs as far as I can tell and delivers his usual stunning guitar work. This is a very powerful opener that confirms Derrin’s growth into a wonderfully mature artist and validates his choice to enter the full band arena. He raids his back catalogue effectively for a number of songs for his band to play and Shipwrecked is a case in point. This is from his last album, 2005s New History. The stripped down version is excellent and this is just as good with just a little hint of a backing vocal providing the finishing touch. He returns to his debut album, Natural, for I Won’t Turn My Back. This is also on his first live album, Live At The Boardwalk, and I feel that this is the seminal version. For me, the new adaptation loses a bit of the originals impact but it is a fantastic song anyhow. Derrin describes his 2003 album, Wasteland, as being from a very dark place and the haunting Where Two Men Go Tonight is a fantastic example of this. It builds up very effectively and will chill you to the bone. Queensland, from New History, is speeded up and benefits tremendously from the addition of a band. Quite superb!
Deliver Me An Angel is another from Wasteland but this doesn’t really gain anything from the extra bodies and possibly spoils what I believe to be one of his best ever songs. The first album, Natural, gets raided again for Reason You Came Here and this is typical Nauendorf, big guitar sounds and moody vocal. This song really suits the band format and I pick out bassist Rick Foot for particular praise. My Hurricane is the second, and last, of the new songs. There are more power chords and it builds just like a hurricane. This must rank as the highlight of the album and hopefully will help confirm 2007 as Derrin’s year. Shatter Like Stars completes a hat-trick as it has appeared on both of Derrin’s previous two albums. If you are hearing this for the first time then you are hearing an emotion-packed song that successfully makes the transition to a full band but I also suggest that you listen to both of the previous versions, you will not be disappointed. Long Road Home was first heard on Wasteland and this up-tempo version benefits greatly from the addition of mandolin, which is a masterstroke. I haven’t mentioned Derrin’s voice too much but it, like he, has grown up and he has a Paul Weller tone here. The closing track, All The Faces, is another from the dark Wasteland. It’s a sombre finish but it works very well. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Derrin Nauendorf.
http://www.derrinnauendorf.com/
David Blue.
This is Derrin’s first album with a full band and he continues to improve and deliver his songs in a different way. Universe Demands is one of two new songs as far as I can tell and delivers his usual stunning guitar work. This is a very powerful opener that confirms Derrin’s growth into a wonderfully mature artist and validates his choice to enter the full band arena. He raids his back catalogue effectively for a number of songs for his band to play and Shipwrecked is a case in point. This is from his last album, 2005s New History. The stripped down version is excellent and this is just as good with just a little hint of a backing vocal providing the finishing touch. He returns to his debut album, Natural, for I Won’t Turn My Back. This is also on his first live album, Live At The Boardwalk, and I feel that this is the seminal version. For me, the new adaptation loses a bit of the originals impact but it is a fantastic song anyhow. Derrin describes his 2003 album, Wasteland, as being from a very dark place and the haunting Where Two Men Go Tonight is a fantastic example of this. It builds up very effectively and will chill you to the bone. Queensland, from New History, is speeded up and benefits tremendously from the addition of a band. Quite superb!
Deliver Me An Angel is another from Wasteland but this doesn’t really gain anything from the extra bodies and possibly spoils what I believe to be one of his best ever songs. The first album, Natural, gets raided again for Reason You Came Here and this is typical Nauendorf, big guitar sounds and moody vocal. This song really suits the band format and I pick out bassist Rick Foot for particular praise. My Hurricane is the second, and last, of the new songs. There are more power chords and it builds just like a hurricane. This must rank as the highlight of the album and hopefully will help confirm 2007 as Derrin’s year. Shatter Like Stars completes a hat-trick as it has appeared on both of Derrin’s previous two albums. If you are hearing this for the first time then you are hearing an emotion-packed song that successfully makes the transition to a full band but I also suggest that you listen to both of the previous versions, you will not be disappointed. Long Road Home was first heard on Wasteland and this up-tempo version benefits greatly from the addition of mandolin, which is a masterstroke. I haven’t mentioned Derrin’s voice too much but it, like he, has grown up and he has a Paul Weller tone here. The closing track, All The Faces, is another from the dark Wasteland. It’s a sombre finish but it works very well. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Derrin Nauendorf.
http://www.derrinnauendorf.com/
David Blue.
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