Phil Jackson – Zeitgeist – Reflections of the Underground

I totally agree with singer/ musician/ songwriter par excellence Dave Dill that ‘there’ s Heaven all around us’ as his plaintive vocal to the title track suggests, a song, incidentally that a ‘new millennium’ Paul McCartney would be proud of. It is remarkable to think that Dave performs everything on this and the nine other tracks on ‘Heaven’. ‘Into You’ has a more eighties ‘new wave’ feel, like a top drawer Graham Parker perhaps with country rock influences in the guitar. Next comes a song that stands out lyrically- ‘Losers’ ‘without whom winners couldn’t be’. ‘Left Behind’ starts with lovely acoustic guitar arpeggios and, vocally, I was reminded very much of the intensity of Jeff Buckley. Dave’s lyrics reveal his deep sense of humanity and on ‘When You’re Beautiful’ he sympathises with the unrealistic expectations of ‘beautiful people’ and includes some neat little synth lines along the way. ‘Why’ sounds uncannily like an acoustic track from a Spock’s Beard album rooted in vocal harmony groups such as Crosby, Stills and Nash of course. Dave’s great concern for the ‘human condition’ is also revealed on ‘Bury the Sun’, a song that George Harrison this time would be proud of. The concluding song ‘Always There’ also has a psychedelic era Beatles undertone and show that Dave Dill has absorbed great song writing influences well. The listener is the beneficiary of this osmotic process as everything sounds so fresh and relevant. The short piano coda reprising ‘Heaven’ is a nice touch. ...if there was any justice in the world these exquisitely crafted and played songs would be getting the maximum exposure they so richly deserve. Why isn’t BBC radio playing music like this? It is after all the quintessence of good taste and judgement- there is not a word or note out of place- and what real music lovers want to hear, presumably. You owe it to yourself to check this guy out. Certainly a recommended release of 2003 and should easily end up in my top ten of the year. Profuse thanks to Tim Jones and Terri~B for drawing my attention to the immense talent of Dave Dill.