Daniel Merriweather - Love & War [Album]
 

Daniel Merriwether will probably be known to most as the vocalist behind Mark Ronson's rendition of The Smith's classic "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before". That song (from Ronson's annoyingly overrated 'Versions' album) pretty much sets the bar for what you can expect from the Australians debut album. Hip-hop tinged Motown rip-offs are very much the order of the day here, and it's a crying shame because the man has a fantastic voice. There's obviously song-writing talent in there too as opening track 'For The Money' really took me by surprise, it's a soulful ballad with a melancholic vibe that recalls classic crooners such as Cole Porter or early Billy Joel and it is by far the best track on the record. The melody is gentle and delivered with conviction, the soft focus backing track is gorgeous and the string arrangements are fantastic. Ronson does indeed have talent to spare when it's channelled effectively.

It's a harsh dive after that though with the first of many tragically average Motown pastiches. 'Impossible' announces it's arrival over a bubbly bass line and the exact same beat Ronson used on 'Stop Me' (a beat which is re-used time and time again over the course of the record). The melody and lyrics are stock, and there's no conviction at-all behind it. When Merriweather pleads "I would do anything for your love" it should ring with desperation and longing but the melody and backing tracks are so dull it renders the lead vocal practically numb. He might as well be singing lines out of the encyclopaedia. Again the string arrangements are well arranged, very 'professional' but lack inspiration.

The first single 'Change' is next, and manages to off-set the gargantuan averageness of 'Impossible'. It's a catchy little number with a simple and effective piano hook and and stand-out chorus. The addition of MC Wale sounds bolted on [unnecessary though] is a cynical attempt at cross genre pollination, it's as if Ronson's trying to sell the song to both the Urban market and the 'Tesco Mum' market and it's almost embarrassing. You cannot have your cake and eat it, especially when it comes to pop music, it's almost as ill-suited as Kanye West's legendarily bad remix of 'Billie Jean' which almost ruins the song. 'Chainsaw' is next up with possibly the worst line I've heard in a song all year ("giving myself to you is like giving myself to a chainsaw"), the production here though at least shows us another side to Ronson's palette. Here he uses old-school hip-hop vibes and a crisp Hammond organ to frame the Merriweather bruised vocal. The effect is very reminiscent of 'A Tribe Called Quest' though Ronson could never even dream of replicating the late, great J Dilla's trademark style even if his life depended on it (granted he does try though and that in itself is admirable). 'Cigarettes' and 'Red' the two songs that follow though are just plain bad. 'Cigarettes' sounds like the Cheers theme song minus the rabble rousing chorus and fed through a low-pass-filter, the lyrics again are just plain trite. 'Red', the albums latest single is a nice enough song on the surface but everything about it sounds so smug and calculated, again the vocal performance is impressive and the string arrangements sound nice... but I could say the same for every single song on the record (or every song Take That have recorded in the last 3 years come to think of it). It's at this point where all the songs begin to bleed into one passive, pleasant whole.

'Could You' rehashes the verse melody from at least 3 of the other songs I've already talked about and the chorus blatantly rips off the Mama's & Papa's 'California Dreaming'. It's obvious, charmless and not half as clever as it thinks it is. 'Getting Out' has a little more substance musically with a vintage groove and backing track straight out of the Marvin Gaye songbook, in fact musically the record as a whole is hard to fault. Ronson is clearly the best man in the business at achieving an approximation of the Motown sound and he milks his abilities for all they are worth (who could blame him). More to blame is Merriwether himself, a gifted singer who just doesn't appear to have put any effort into either his melodies, lyrics or performances, it results in a monumentally flat record. The much hyped 'Water & A Flame' pairs Merriwether with fellow Ronson acolyte Adele and he is really outshone here. It's one of the stronger songs on the record with a darker tint that recalls Blue Lines era Massive Attack and the torch-song atmosphere suits Adele's husky tones perfectly, Merriwether sounds like a guest vocalist in his own song! The remaining 3 songs don't really even warrant a specific mention (save maybe for "Giving Everything Away For Free's" delicate chorus) as there is barely anything to get excited or worked up over in any of them. Just copy and paste a few of the above sentences. In fact I semi-retract that statement. Album closer "You Don't Know What Love Is" does have a redemptive quality to it, with Merriweather harking back to his days as a Melbourne busker, his strong, sun-kissed vocals come alive here, but it's a case of too little too late. To all intents and purposes, this album is of the same calibre musically as the much-vaunted Amy Winehouse effort "Back To Black" - not least because of its near identical, Ronson-led production values. Whether or not this album will have as much of a profound, cultural impact though remains up for debate. One thing is for sure, it certainly doesn't 'deserve' to have that kind of impact. Then again Scouting For Girls don't 'deserve' to have even sold a single record though.

My main qualm with the album is that it's actually a pleasant experience overall. Not once did I feel a need to reach for the remote to skip a track. However, if you changed the vocal track at times I swear I could almost be listening to a 'Flight Of The Conchords' parody. The lyrics are dreadful ("Everyday that I love her I kill myself".... really?? Tell me Daniel, how exactly does on kill themselves more than once??) and the melodies are interchangeable. This really gets to me as I genuinely think the guy has talent.

Maybe once the albums enjoyed it's guaranteed, market-researched, multi-platinum success the storm will settle and Merriweather will be left to plan his next move with caution. Love & War (where's the war??) is the epitome of middle of the road and as such I see it as no more fitting than 5 out of 10's across the board.