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John Stowell / Dan Dean: Rain Painting
ByRain Painting pairs the two veteran Origin Records guys for more innovationStowell's acoustic and electric guitars, Dean's acoustic and electric basses and, again, his wordless vocals, along with some deft drum programing from Dean, to create an alluring sound that makes another category of its own, much in the way Songs Without Words did. All compositions come from Stowell's pen; the vocal arrangements are Dean's, as he creates a sound that brings the Beach Boys' vocal layerings influenced by a church choir to mind when he overdubs, or (un-overdubbed) a hipster monk who has ditched the Gregorian chants for the sound of Chet Baker's vocalese, circa 1958, on the trumpeter's Chet Baker Sings: It Could Happen to You (Riverside Records).
It is an album that sounds in-the-moment and effortless, but in fact it was a painstakingly constructed work of art, with Stowell laying down his acoustic guitar tracks first, followed by Dean layering in his vocals, and on into Stowell coming back in to add guitar solos and rhythm guitar parts, leading into Dean's background vocal constructions, bass additions and virtual drum parts.
The results are spontaneous, joyful and life-affirming, showcasing Stowell's wide-ranging guitar artistry, and Dan Dean's sound shaping and innovative tone layering and designing. Go to the top of the class, guys.
Track Listing
Welcome to Nice; Nanti Glo; Rain Painting; Pretty Boy Floyd; Alora Andiamo!; Springfield Sonata; Tapioca Time; Always Sometimes; Schiffletting; The Mandy Walk.
Personnel
John Stowell
guitarDan Dean
vocalsAdditional Instrumentation
John Stowell: acoustic guitars; electric guitars, fretless electric guitar; Dan Dean: acoustic bass, electric, vocals, percussion, drum programming.
Album information
Title: Rain Painting | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Origin Records
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