CD Review – Slow Down – Richie McDonald

13 years ago Liv Carter Comments Off on CD Review – Slow Down – Richie McDonald

Slow Down – Richie McDonald (2011, Loremoma Music)

A labor of love three years in the making, Slow Down, is the new album by Richie McDonald. When I was first introduced to this project, I thought an album populated entirely by ballads might be a bit of a risky move. How do you keep a listener engaged for about an hour with only slow-tempo material? Answer: with good writing and some great vocals. Richie McDonald, luckily, can deliver both.

The central message of Slow Down is immediately delivered in the title track. Life moves fast enough and everything doesn’t have to be so loud and busy all the time. It is a reminder but also an invitation to settle down quietly with the rest of the album.

When the tempo is slow you can’t rely on a beat to carry the songs so solid songwriting becomes even more essential. Demonstrating this is ‘Huntersville Gazette’. Co-written with Ron Harbin and Philip Douglas, this song is a creative stand-out. An ode to small town living, it makes its point by making it about the local paper.

Much of the material here is message-driven. ‘Grow Old’ was inspired by Richie’s wife worrying about getting older. Though written with a specific person in mind, the message is universal and I can see this song resonating with a wide audience.

McDonald is at his best in power ballads like ‘How Do I Just Stop’ and when singing message-driven material like first single ‘Footprints on the Moon’. The song does suffer from a weak second verse, but it stays on its feet thanks to a solid chorus and stellar vocals which carry it through.

A not-quite-ballad snuck in, ‘Somewhere Down this Road’. Its flaw is again a weak second chorus but this time it is rescued by a truly delightful banjo line.

Despite carrying a classic message of gratitude for family, ‘Thankful’ is a weaker track. It’s not that the song is bad in itself but it is a ballad version of ‘Frontporch Looking In’. The latter worked much better with cute details to help us paint a picture. ‘Thankful’ relies too heavily on overused imagery to add anything new to the family-songs group.

If the purpose of an album is to deliver, and live up to, its own message, then Slow Down reaches its goal. Seek out this album when in the middle of the busy business of life you just need a few moments to slow down.

Liv Carter

Liv Carter

Liv is a career coach for creatives, and the people who work with them.
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
Liv Carter

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