D.C. Anderson
House Concert
(LML Music)
August 24, 2022
Reviewed by John Hoglund
D.C. Anderson has a lot to offer in his 13th solo album, House Concert. A versatile, award-winning singer/songwriter, he has a full-time career as a working actor with an impressive résumé (including touring for 18 years with The Phantom of the Opera). He has also received a Bistro Award for singer/songwriter (2001), a MAC Award for male vocalist in 2002, and nominations for song of the year in 1999 and 2002 and in 2007 for his original, “I Am Still.” He has recently been co-starring in the Broadway-bound Anne of Green Gables at Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut.
Anderson recently made some comments about self-recording that warrant attention. In touch with the impulsive circus that is today’s music industry, he has a lot to say about the future of CDs. It is worth noting that as of 2020, CD sales had fallen 80 percent over the previous decade. In a recent exchange with Cabaret Scenes regarding cabaret CDs in general, Anderson remarked “All of the songs on House Concert compelled me to take them in, let them go to work on me, and sing and then release them; they have places to go and people to meet.”Such is the basis for his self-produced effort (released through LML Music), which is only availableonly on digital media, including Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and most other streaming devices. He opined “I realized that printing CDs these days is not worth the money. Printing CDs never return their cost if one is not a Nancy LaMott, a Patti LuPone, or a Brian Stokes Mitchell. And, although I have heard they are making a ‘resurgence,’ CDs are a ‘dead’ industry. I am currently in a piece of musical theater with 12 young people who have no CD player, nor do they intend to buy one.”That’s a lot to ponder and a strong commentary about the schizoid state of today’s recording industry. Many cabaret artists continue to record and market CDs with verve, and many continue to receive awards and critical praise.
Anderson’s expressive tenor and his original songs have been lauded by critics and fans for years. On this new album, he presents facets of life and love with sensitivity. This is his greatest strength. He is a highly skilled interpretive singer whose intimate shadings both invite the listener in and recall a personal conversation. He is able to make every word seem as if he were singing it right to the listener in the most intimate way. Isn’t that what great singing is all about? All this makes him an undeniable truth teller who understands the nature and depth of his art. Anderson makes his story worth hearing. On the homemade House Concert, he weaves together 11 tracks that possess an emotional depth that is profound and sincere.
The well-chosen selections showcase his gently toned tenor, whose musical moods are always reflective and tender. This is especially so in a slowed down reading of the album’s first cut, a perfectly phrased “Some Enchanted Evening” (Rodgers & Hammerstein from South Pacific). Minus the overkill some singers bring to this deceivingly simple romantic ballad, it is compelling here, and David Robison’s excellent support at the piano makes it one of the album’s finest cuts. Such richness recalls crooners from a bygone era such as Matt Monroe or Andy Williams who seamlessly transformed songs into something aesthetically memorable. On “I Wanna Know You” from Anne of Green Gables, with lyrics by Matte O’Brien and music by Matt Vinson, his delivery is riveting as he spins the pointed lyrics with ease: “I want to know everything that you are, everything that you’ve been, everything that you’ll be.”His expressive phrasing becomes the foundation on which every track is built.
His tone is as flawless as sensuous cashmere on his original “There Ain’t No Devil” (music by Bryce Kulak). In this haunting beauty, he intelligently caresses words without frills: “there ain’t no devil; only what’s been forgot/myths don’t die, the heart won’t lie/the deepest wish of the broken dish is the pieces find each other – when the one who broke it is gone, long gone.” It’s powerful and told with naked truth.Part of Anderson’s appeal is his ability to instill every song with genuine warmth along with a technical sonority that he seduces the listener. It’s a skill that highlights his ebullient interpretations on this homespun album that has a classic feel.
Other highlights include an understated “God Is Good” by Todd Almond that is not evangelical; rather it’s a simplistic observation about falling down: “You see me frown, for you are a god to me… and God is good,” Some songs reflect the cautions we’ve all had during the pandemic. On While There Is Still Time, a collaboration with Hillary Rollins and Michele Brourman, he exudes the simple truth of kindness while we’re all still here and scores a supple moment with this facile tune. For lighter fare, he offers an offbeat treatment of Allan Chapman’s parody of “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” (Hammerstein/Jerome Kern) which becomes “Can’t Help Lovin’ That Lamb.” His original (co-written with his sister Claudia Anderson)“Song for Artists” is a tribute to performers everywhere:“This is my song to artists of all nations/borne of your love and dreams for all mankind.”
He wraps it all up with the serene beauty of “Bright Angel” by Susan Osborn; it is so pensive and wistful it is almost prayer-like and might sting if it weren’t so tranquil: “take my remains where the wild river runs and scatter them there in the dry desert air where the bright angel falls.”It is to Anderson’s credit that he can weave such serenity with the ease of a bird in flight. While he shows a penchant for songs outside the ordinary, House Concert repeatedly underscores his abilities as an adept interpreter of the human heart and makes it worthy of wider exposure.
Regardless of the service used to listen, this is an exceptional album for anyone who loves a fluid voice singing beautiful songs. Anderson handles the eclectic mix with the simple purity of his voice as he transforms each cut into something aesthetically lasting in richness and beauty. While most of the album was recorded at home, he also worked with David Robison (on piano), Dave Cook (at the recording console at Area 52 Studios), and it was skillfully engineered by Lee Lessack of LML Music.
