Dan Carillo & Common Good: Witness

Common Good is a guitar-led trio whose music is message-driven, even though the message becomes largely irrelevent once the music has begun on Witness. Each of Dan Carillo's eight compositions was written in response to a social injustice, a social need, an heroic response to tyranny, a truth that lies hidden beneath layers of deception and obfuscation. An admirable enterprise, to be sure, but as there are no lyrics it remains for the listener to recognize and appreciate the music's deeper meanings.

For those who can't or won't consider the underlying purpose, it may simply sound like a trio performing generally modest and sober themes that could lend themselves to any motive the listener might care to design. And that is the basis on which it must be appraised. Any such judgment should be prefaced by an affirmation that Carillo and his teammates—bassist Andrew Bergmann, drummer Aaron Walker— are first-rate musicians, obviating any question that Carillo's songs are well-played. The knotty points lie elsewhere, starting with the fact that the music is for the most part even-tempered and introspective—one might even say bland—which perhaps suits the composer's purpose, but most listeners won't "see" that. Second, the recording itself has a nebulous "other-worldy" aura that serves to underscore the shadowy character of the music.

There is no doubt that Carillo has the best of intentions, composing themes to honor such issues as International Workers Day and a resistance movement in the Dominican Republic, while lamenting the scourges of poverty, economic and social injustice, political imbalance, and needless pain and suffering. These are shortcomings that no doubt need to be addressed, if only for the Common Good. What remains to be determined is whether a guitar trio, no matter how admirable its goals, is the proper forum in which to do so. As Carillo is out front most of the way, listeners who appreciate a well-played guitar may find the messenger adequate to redeem the message.