TERRY RICE...THE DARK HUMOR DEMOS 1. From My Little Black Heart To Yours 2. The Way I Am 3. Shine 4. This Will Never Go Away 5. The April Song 6. A Sad Song 7. Understood 8. Nowhere Kentucky *bonus trax* 9. Cabin Fever 10. Metamorphine 11. Untitled
"In late 2003, I've had the pleasure of meeting Terry
Rice, a very talented singer/guitarist/song writer
that never fails to impress me. Aside from becoming
close friends, I've also had the pleasure of
collaborating with him (along with Noah Goldberg) with
the new Dark Humor material. I've found this to be a
great honor to be working with such talented
individuals.
"The Dark Humor Demos" is a compilation of... well,
demos of Dark Humor songs. Every song on this disc was
written and performed by Terry Rice (later to be
revamped by the Dark Humor trio for the upcoming
album). Although I'm not a big fan of acoustic music,
Terry's compositions have always captured my listening
ear. The melancholy chord progressions, the truly deep
and superb lyrics, and the emotionally-driven
vocals... it's all here!!!
I can honestly say that Terry is one of my biggest
inspirations as a musician, and he is one of the most
talented and emotionally-driven song writers of this
day and age. Don't listen to his music with a closed
mind; let the music and lyrics flow through you...
listen closely to what he has got to say.
"From My Little Black Heart To Yours" is a painfully
sweet love ballad that compels me to cry a river of
bloody tears. The truth about love is that it hurts;
with love comes pain and misery.
The song that always strikes me the hardest is "The
Way I Am." It is a beautifully simple love song that
hits you on every emotional level if you've ever been
in love. During the song's chorus, Terry sings one of
the best lines I've ever read and listened to: "We
don't need nobody else when we sit here on my couch,
we are the only two people left upon this world." You
cannot help but sing along to this song!!! It's
amazing. You should never take anybody for granted,
but rather cherish the person that you love (only if
they return the same love to you, of course).
One of the most emotional songs on this CD is "Shine."
Every time I listen to Terry singing about this
mystery woman, my heart is shattered by her pain and
her will to live with that pain. "So even if the
morning sun hurts her eyes, my baby, she still shines
(my baby shines, my baby shines)." Powerful stuff,
man! I think Terry's dual vocal take adds so much more
to the song, musically and emotionally. In my
opinion, "Shine" is one of those songs that opens up
your eyes. I don't know if that was Terry's original
intention while writing it, but it surely opened up my
eyes. The message I get from "Shine" is that we
shouldn't look down upon other people, because we're
all the same (as in, we're all humans and we all have
to deal with pain and suffering, etc.)
"This Will Never Go Away" is very somber tune
revolving around the plastic smiles and false good
intentions many people give off. Again, open up your
eyes, people! You can't deny the fact that some people
don't have a clue that their words or actions bring
pain to those around them. "I wish I could feel
welcome, I wish I could feel love, I wish I had a
chance... I wish I had a chance..."
I think "The April Song" is the most beautifully
written composition on this entire CD. "Baby, don't
you cry tonight, I'm gonna make everything all right.
So say your prayers before you go to sleep. Pray your
little soul to keep, 'cos I love you, baby, oh so
much... and I know that you still love me..." I
personally like the original demo version and the
final version of this song better, but this acoustic
version still captures the emotion that drives the
song.
"A Sad Song" is self-explanatory; a recollection of a
failed relationship. "I wanna write that song that
makes you cry." The song reveals that longing to
inflict emotional pain on somebody who's made you
miserable.
The version of "Understood" featured on this CD is
more somber than the original and the final versions
(which are actually more upbeat). But this version
captures more of the sadness of the lyrics.
Terry told me that "Nowhere Kentucky" was a cover of a
Sixth Floor song. I've never heard the original
version, but I surely love Terry's rendition!!! For
me, this song is very soothing to the soul.
"Cabin Fever" is an odd lil' track. The rain and
heartbeats in the background really add to the
strangeness of the song. I was disappointed that Terry
didn't sing on this one, though. Well, Terry whistles
in the song. Does that still count? I don't know if
it's the rain, or the fifth cup of tea I've had while
writing out this CD review, or what, but listening to
this song is making me feel relaxed...
The music for "Metamorphine" was written and performed
by the co-founding member of Dark Humor, Noah
Goldberg. It's a really groovy rap-like tune with
Terry showing off his mad M.C. skills! It definitely
stands out from the rest of the CD.
Like "Cabin Fever", "Untitled" is another strange one.
The toy guitar used on the song reminds me of a
traditional Japanese stringed-instrument called a ko-
to, haha. But anyway, the backwards masking makes the
song even more trippy than it already is with the ko-
to sounding thing. It has a child-like eeriness to it.
Again, we're deprived of Terry's awesome singing voice
in this one! "Untitled" and "Cabin Fever" are more
atmospheric instrumentals; music that would play in
the background of a movie (preferably horror, haha). I
have no idea why, but when I listen to "Untitled", I
imagine the aftermath of a war... shots of the dead
cadavers out on the battle field... and yeah... that's
just me.
So, there you have it: another release from Terry Rice
that is definitely not worth missing!!! Also, stay
tuned for the upcoming Dark Humor self-titled and
remix albums!!!
*review by Joey Kamiya*
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