Phil Jackson - Zeitgeist

"I checked out Dave Dill's new songs on My Space and he kindly sent me a copy of his latest CD. He's an artist I've always rated highly especially as he is so proficient on so many instruments and his songs with their glorious melodies make me think of spring and summer- good timing then!

On 'Follow The Summer' Dave's potential as a songwriter is at last fully realised and, surely, if a major or an ambitious indie label were to pick up on this recording, they'd have a success on their hands.

There are similarities between Dave's vocal style and that of Pink Hedgehog's Peter Lacey in turn influenced by Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys.

The opener 'Today' has a clever and inventive arrangement with a false electric piano of sorts only to start up again with a sublime Brian May influenced guitar coda. And I for one can't resist lyrics like 'dancing in a sky that's filled with stars big enough for Jupiter and Mars!'

The similarity of Dave's singing and Gerry Rafferty on 'Miss America' is startling and without exaggeration I would say that Dave Dill has produced an album or reliable, intelligent and engaging pop/rock to rival Rafferty's greatest album, 'City To City'.

Steely Dan may be another less obvious reference point although Dave's subject matter is not as characterised or varied as the astonishing creations by Fagen and Becker between 1972 and 1977.

'Happily Ever After' has a definite 'Dan' vibe about it although the prevailing influence is The Beatles and Paul McCartney in particular. Dave's use of electric piano and guitar lines and fills do hark back to Rafferty and his band though!

The beautiful ballad 'Perfect There' could well be Peter Lacey or in another time Brian Wilson and the imagery on 'Never So Beautiful' works well, a song that could be schmalz in other hands but instead comes across as sincerity and romanticism personified.

'Don't Remember', a co-write with Derek Holt is an enjoyable rocker that could have been culled from the 'Dan' back catalogue and another collaboration with Holt provides an album highlight in the haunting 'Hide and Seek (You Won't Find Me') with its country tinged guitar.

The title track appears late in the album and sums up what Dave Dill is about: optimism, light and beauty with a touch of literal 'flower power' ('Golden rod in bloom, monarchs seemed dazed in the feast') concluding with waves gently lapping against a shore. Even though the subject matter may be different the comparison to Gerry Rafferty is now inescapable. There that's the third time I've said it!

'Everyday Song' is a touching jaunty song while the album's closer 'Ride On' sees Dave at his bluesiest and most laid back, an impressive vignette. The closing line 'The sunflower hangs its head and falls asleep' seems most appropriate. Having said that this album is the opposite of soporific, in fact it is genuinely energising. You'd need to be a statue not to be moved by Dave Dill's delightful music and his undemonstrative but ever so subtle guitar playing and song arrangements.

This soaring, triumphant music charts the development of a pheonomenal musician and songwriter."