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 CD Review - NORM BRUNET -
Life Goes On
NORM
BRUNET
Life Goes On
Hysteria Music-
HMCD-3325
Produced by: Michel LeFrancois with Norm
Brunet
(10 Selections – Playing Time
39:47)
Life Goes On / It Ain’t Right If Nothing’s
Wrong / Can’t Be Saved / Helping Hand / How I Wish /
Give Me Hope / Mommy Won’t Be Here Today / Tell Her /
Don’t Let Her Go Astray / I Need Your Love
In this age of ‘sound-a-likes’ and ‘clones’, it is
truly refreshing to have someone come along in music who
delivers a different sound, both vocally and through the
songs he writes. Norm Brunet has one of those scratchy,
smokey-throated vocal styles that makes him standout
from today’s overload of velvet voices; and he writes
songs that make statements of life that most everyone
can relate to. Sometimes the topic isn’t very pretty –
but, that’s life.
Norm Brunet came out of the Beauceville, Quebec
region, and made his musical home in the national
capital (Ottawa) region. He first created a stir at the
national level with his music in the early 90’s, with
the release of his critically-acclaimed, but largely
overlooked album, Me And My Guitar. By the
late 90’s he was hoping that an anglicized “Brad Leigh”
pseudonym would open some doors at country radio. That
project was quickly abandoned, and now, with this album,
we get back to some roots.
The album’s title track, Life Goes On has
stirred some renewed interest at radio; and there will
be several more tunes here that should have an impact.
I Need Your Love is a powerful demon-shedding
type message song; while Tell Her is a bluesy,
torch tune that comes with a very effective pedal steel
moan. There’s an equally effective fiddle track on
the Don’t’ Let Her Go Astray, and these subtle
production touches provide the album with a ‘country’
feel, in support of Norm Brunet’s blues-driven vocal
style.
The album also includes re-makes of three songs first
heard on Brunet’s Me And My Guitar album,
reprising the sad but true “bag lady demise” story
song Helping Hand; the statement of life song,
Can’t Be Saved (which is enhanced this time
around with some tasty dobro touches); and Brunet’s
meal-ticket tune, It Ain’t Right If Nothing’s
Wrong; a song that deserves this second outing on
disc… hopefully, this time, radio gets clued in too.
All songs on Life Goes On were written
by Norm Brunet who co-produced the album with Michel
LeFrancois at Star Studios in Verdun, Quebec.
For info / copies contact: Hysteria Music – 43
Rodolphe-Fournier Ave., Iberville, QC, J2X 5J3 – or –
visit the website www.normbrunet.com
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