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Peace Songs For A Better
World Reviewed by Diane Wells
This 15-track collection of songs from both female
and male North
American artists (with Australian and Norwegian representation) is a
life-affirming musical project humbly shadowing its more famous and forceful
predecessor, “Woodstock”. Check out the Bob Dylan-inspired ‘Gift (One Iraqi
Child)’ and ‘No One Can Stop Me When I’m Out to be Good’, from Josh White
Jr., a latter-day Richie Havens.
One of the many things I like about this CD is that it offers a wide
exposure to lesser-known female musicians, who, unless they are willing to
expose more than their musical talent, are very often overlooked in the
higher echelons of the industry. West Coast ladies Christa Couture, Quincy,
Elaine Dempsey, Blair Hansen, Adrienne Jones, Margo Hennebach and Toronto’s
Laura Fernandez all deserve recognition for their demurely sweet, lilting
vocals as well as their thought-provoking lyrics on a peaceful world.
Among the renowned Ontario male performers appearing here are Guelph’s
James Gordon, Whitby’s Roger Ellis, and the winner of the 2004 Colleen
Peterson Songwriting Award, David Gillis, of Vineland - all wonderful
musical ambassadors for Canada!
The most memorable “hit” track, among these otherwise beautiful ballads,
would certainly be the riotously poetic ’60s-pop-rocker ‘Change My World’
(by NY’s Sean Altman and Billy Straus). My other favourite was Norway’s Finn
Coren, who offers ‘Riverboatman’, a well-enunciated, musically dramatic
piano-and-strings opus that speaks to homesick refugees. It would have been
great if Belgium’s Yanah had been included here, particularly for her ‘Girl
in the Picture’ tribute to Kim Phuc, a Vietnamese victim of a napalm attack,
but there are only so many songs that can fit on one CD.
This is a very admirable initiative by humanitarian
Brian Gladstone,
who also organizes several other socially conscious music endeavours such as
Earthday, Winterfolk Festival and the Outrageous Summer Open
