Search - Michael Dyer :: Butterfly's Release

Twelve soft-rock songs with poetic lyrics, warm vocals, subtle guitar picking, complementary bass lines and evocative keyboards. Songs are about love and loss. Most of his songs have some unique lyrical, vocal or instrumental feature. For instance, in "Roller Coaster Lover" he makes effective use of slide guitar (and also speeds-up/slows-down parts of the song) to give the listener a sense of being on a roller coaster. Lyrically, the song is also interesting, with lines such as: "Now I'm astride, a gorgeous Jekyll and Hyde on the far side, about to collide, my heart all liquified. ... My day-glo poster, poppin' toaster lover, my gotta-have-the-most-of-her, roller coaster lover. My burnin'-bright, hot-lava-site roaster lover. ..." In "You Can Syncopate Your Lovin' Rate" he sings multiple harmonies in a syncopated manner; that is, the harmonies are staggered either immediately preceding or following the main melody line. Several other songs also have multi-part harmonies. For instance, Michael Dyer states that the song "Drastic'ly Drooping" was inspired by the multiple harmonies and alliteration of the Crosby, Stills & Nash song "Helplessly Hoping" and yet it's interesting that Dyer's song, even though it also has alliteration and multi-part harmonies, sounds quite different from the song that inspired it. Two of Dyer's songs on this CD are within the blues genre. "Tar Paper Blues" is a blues song with an interesting guitar-picking style and beautiful harmonica duets. The lyrics are also quite good (which is unusual for most blues songs). For example, at the end he sings: "Can't even manage to sit. Gotta lie down an' take it. My playin' cards, I fold. My queen of hearts is cold. My furniture, sold, an' no one to hold. Got the blues, tar paper blues. No daylight hues to these blues, dark tar paper blues, just pitch black, midnight, no light in sight, tar paper blues." The other blues song, "I'm Not Some Reprobate", is unusual in that it makes use of chord progressions that are non-standard for blues, while still employing blues-style guitar riffs. This song also has wonderful lyrics: "... Don t hate me, but lately, I feel like a neonate. Been late on the up-take. Now I can not satiate, my need for another date with you ... I m not a manipulator. Won t take you down the up elevator. I m not some potentate. Can t control what s to be our fate..." Several of the songs on this CD are very beautiful while at the same time cover melancholy or dark themes. For instance, the title song "Butterfly's Release" is about the loss of love ("I'm alone as I can be. Your single tear has decimated me. Nowhere now to go but down. Hear the waves crashing sound. ... And I wonder where loves hides, when the rose is turned aside. And I wonder how love ceased, with the butterfly's release.") This songs will be enjoyed by those who like interesting lyrics and evocative melodies within the soft-rock genre.