Dan Cloutier takes his listeners along on a personal lyrical journey through the human heart, and, as harrowing as it can be at times, it turns out to be a fun, breathtaking ride. Cloutier also offers up his personal takes of differing musical genres on his third CD, Blind Willie’s Lighthouse. Folk, rock and roll, and blues are all colors on Cloutier’s palette. A folksy ease to each of these song belies their hefty dose of rock aggression and blues exploration.
Cloutier opens his CD with a brief banjo melody called “Prelude.” Thus begins the folk trajectory of this album. Next up is “The Captain And The Sea” a tune resting comfortably in its own niche that exists somewhere between folk and rock and roll. Cloutier’s vocal and the backing vocals from his Birch Beer Records label co-founder, Kim Jennings, rise upward on an organic lift, real music from the hearts of the people singing. Jennings, who is also keyboardist on this album, unfurls a sweep of serious mood notes from her piano that make you think she composed them right after an uncertain north Atlantic crossing.
“The Climber” was based on classic rock from the early 1970s. The rhythm section propels the song with a driving hoof and Cloutier belts it out mightily. Hearty guitar strums complete the aggressive edge here. Cloutier’s tales of climbing numerous challenging mountains make him sound like a man on a dangerous quest and one he cannot finish until he conquers all before him. His steadfast refusal to give up manages to sweep up his listener and pulls him up the mountain too.
“Trouble In The Promised Land” is a slow boil piano ballad that builds its momentum on snappy rhythmic underpinnings. Cloutier, a man with one foot in earnest folk and the other in modern acoustic rock, and Jennings, likely the future of the local area’s singer-songwriter scene, sing harmony like they were born to work together. The musical chemistry between the two is also audible in the way their instruments play together. Jennings tinkles out an undercurrent of sweet brittle notes to accompany Cloutier’s intricate interval of delicate acoustic guitar notes.
“Kinneret” is roots rock with a purpose. Cloutier’s speedy guitar strumming and harmonica weave sweetly with Jennings backing coos. While she eases an ethereal arc over the narrative, Cloutier rocks things up with a peppy rhythm section speeding him along. Self-disclosure in the chorus shows him to be an honest songwriter and one many, if they are honest with themselves, will relate to.
“Bangor 5:00 am” is a haunting murder ballad with a quietly creep, slow piano melody and a soft spoken vocal that can stay in your mind for a long time. This one is so eerie you wonder if Cloutier and Jennings really broke bad and iced someone. Cloutier is dark, moody, contemplative, and his talk of a smoking gun conjures all sorts of murder plots. Johnny Cash like in its focus on the murderer, this one goes from looking at the act to introspection.
Jennings’ organ chords push Cloutier’s “Sea Monster” into a lofty realm of heady seriousness with its persistent spiritual lift, and it makes for a nice segue into “Dark Is The Night,” another piano laced folksy piece infused with Cloutier’s handsome flowing belts and Jennings lovely chimes on the chorus. This tune is destined for air play. It’s too catchy not to. Seriously, it would be a crime if someone somewhere didn’t give it a few spins.
A half- spoken word track titled “A Pastor In Maine” is graced by the Cloutier-Jennings harmony coos, a thing of art and beauty. Yet, it is Cloutier’s narrative of a small town pastor detailing his daily travails that make this compelling. “Through The Rain” gets a rocked up rhythm from its concentrated pattern of drum notes. Cloutier gives it an earthy drawl that pulls the listener in with his soulful exuberance, his vocal getting more compelling as the song goes on.
“The Party” begins with some fetching electric guitar picking style that resonates and captures the ear with their understated desire to build into something larger than life. When the rest of the band chime in, there’s a driving sound that supplements the description of an elicit event. Fulsome round drum notes and a persistent low end pump this whole thing up like a hydraulic lift; brittle guitar notes on top completing the three-dimensional ambiance with an aggressive rock finesse.
A gently paced “The End Of The World” is an acoustic solo gem. Cloutier strums this ditty for all its worth, digging deep into its nice thick low end notes, knobby and fulsome. His voice, infused with steady straight forward tenderness, flows with its sandpapery drawl, moving organically along his narrative with a majestic ease.
Closing out with title track “Blind Willie’s Lighthouse” Cloutier gets his joyful soul side going on in this ode to his favorite blues man. With a blues vocal assist from Jenny Jones and Jon McAuliffe, Clouthier finds that perfect space for his voice. He walks it home with even paced strumming, a bumpy bass note run, and a jaunty, upbeat drum pattern under his sunshiny zeal. You almost picture singing as he walks down a sidewalk like a character straight out of a musical.
Aside from Jennings, Jones, and McAuliffe, Cloutier receives substantial backing from drummer Eric Anderson, bass from Dennis Pearne and producer Eric Salt. Salt and engineer Tony Goddess makes the whole thing sound good, especially Jennings’ piano and backing coos.
Psst, Cloutier could be onto something big here.
I love your reviews Bill because you actually take the time to listen to all the tracks, and I’m humbled you enjoyed BWL so much. Thank you so much for the kind words, and for supporting the local music scene.