You can often tell when a song has been written for a specific purpose, when it’s been written out of a sheer need to assess and express a set of ideas – essentially, when it really means something to the artist presenting it. Thunderin’ Down The Road was a genuinely surprising song for me, far more than a run-of-the-mill Americana offering; there’s depth here. It’s fascinating, and beautiful to listen to.
From the very beginning, the song emerges with plenty of space, so your focus is on the leading voice – on those lyrics, that tone, that melody. This is where you start to realise that the song was potentially crafted with intent, rather than as a by-product of a musical jam (though of course, I could be wrong, and in either case the result shines brightly). A confidently stylish bass-line drives the soundscape, the relevant sound of distant thunder, the funky or quirky acoustic guitar rhythm. Then Terry Derosier’s voice, introducing softly descriptive and poetic ideas and images. His voice is perfectly well-suited to this type of song. It’s captivating, it sounds up close and personal, believable – real.
As the story-line develops, you perhaps question some of the details and maybe consider it more of a light-hearted bit of smooth entertainment. Even then though, you still can’t help but see a little metaphor in all of this. The song has managed to sound like a classic, nostalgic piece of music and writing, as well as being totally new, refreshing, and wonderful.
The final section takes the deeply personal route and reaches out for your heartstrings and your soul a little more loudly (though cleverly using the overwhelming aura of space and quiet to achieve that volume). The drop that follows, the full-throttle rock and roll climax, is brilliant – the icing on the cake. I look forward to checking out more from Terry Derosier.
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