The Best of Songwriters
I Began to Fall (ear X-tacy Records)
Dan Gediman
Your biggest challenge to enjoying Dan Gediman's new album may be tearing yourself away from the back cover photo of his newborn twins. After you're done cootchie-cooing the kids, be sure to give as much attention to what's inside.
Gediman's style defies any pigeonholing; his songs flow easily from pop ("Forget-Me-Nots") to country folk ("Terrible, Horrible Thing") to honky tonk ("Do You Think About Me?") to blues ("Some Day"). The fact that Gediman is adept in each area is a testament to both his versatility and his sincere songwriting.
The foundation for the excellence of "Fall" is Gediman's ability to tell a story. He evokes the doomed-love sagas of Lucinda Williams on "Terrible, Horrible Thing," and "Best of Dads" is reminiscent of the transparent ruminations of James McMurtry. The high-low point of the album is "Eternity," a heart-wrenching goodbye song that soars on Gediman's painful vulnerability.
That deep level of emotion is balanced well by the bounce of "Forget-Me-Nots" and the sweet nostalgia of the title track. I hope Gediman's twins grow up to know him as the best of dads; we already know him as one of the best songwriters, and "Fall" is continuing proof.