BORN premature and blind, the New Mexico-born, New York-based writer-vocalist-guitarist Raul Midon burst onto the scene in 2005 with his audaciously original debut album, State Of Mind.Now he is back with a sophomore offering, A World Within A World.
This is definitely a very special treat, packed with well produced, well written, easy-to-take tunes put across in rhythm & blues, folk groove with lots of Latin soul beats.
Midon lays out the purpose for his music on the album's first song, Pick Somebody Up, with a string section adding depth. His strikingly powerful voice flows over the top of the music which is backed by a solid rhythm section.
He follows this with Save My Life. It's a mellow tune that develops in a big way, with great blues guitar licks accenting the vocals.
From doo-wop (Ain't Happened Yet) to modern urban (All Because of You) to latin (Caminando) to pop (The More That I Know) to Bob Dylan-like folk (Tembererena), Midon combines his distinct voice, strumming, beats, and acappella sounds with his unique style that shows the influence of virtually every musical genre including jazz.
Plus, in place of having a trombone or saxophone, he uses his lips as a harmonic mouthpiece to add a brassy element into his music. His guitar methods utilise a bass-slapping technique for added percussion.
In Midon, one can actually imagine the soulfulness of Stevie Wonder, the inventiveness of Paul Simon and individuality of Bill Withers.
Tembererana, which employs elements of Argentinean music, pits images of the threat of looming annihilation against "the power of creation", while The More That I Know ponders metaphysical questions like "Why do the children suffer so?"
The culminating Peace On Earth places the radical humanism of John Lennon's Imagine in an unsettling contemporary context.
If you haven't heard of Raul Midon before, then A World Within A World is the perfect reason for you to fall in love with his music. - NST 30/09/2007
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