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Hayden, "The Closer I get"
Outpost Recordings, released: 1998
Hayden hails from Canada and on this record his Neil Young style harmonica playing proves that it's something in the water. The songs here exist completely in a flavor that belongs almost exclusively to Hayden. The songs of love lost, unrequited, and found. The loneliness that pervades his songs is profound. Even the happy songs ring sad. But what makes Hayden special is his voice and perspective. You could say that he is a lousy musician. You could say that he can't really sing, you could say that his song writing skills are marginal, but you'd be wasting your breath. The whole record adds up, and the equation equals a very rewarding album. I can understand people not getting into this. It is a bit depressing and over all and unconventional in a rock 'n' roll sort of way, but Hayden is hammering away with the tools that he has. He is able to tell intricate stories which create vivid mental environments and situations with very few words. And he does so with a very interesting take on what music is all about. He takes a folk format of simple guitar, or keyboard and augments that with some very diverse accompaniment. A banjo on this song, strings on that, and organ here, a full band there. The instrumentation on this records varies from song to song and with this album he is branching out into new areas of songwriting and arrangement. I am always impressed by artists who are creating music which rides it's own horse. This music does that and I can't recommend it enough.
[BdeV 9/9/98]

Outpost Recordings, 8932 Keith Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90089
www.outpostrec.com