Positively Not Quite REVIEW BY WALTER I. ZEICHNER Self-described writer, actor, singer and master juggler Paul Lockwood grew up writing sto- ries and plays in Chicago, then lived in New York for 19 years before leaving for Pittsburgh. Lockwood’s musical back- ground ranges from off-off- Broadway to dance music, his days jobs from radio DJ to screenwriter on a Sundance semifinalist project. Positive, his first solo CD, reflects a little of that diversity, but generally, the songs are about life as a gay man and as an HIV+ gay man coming to terms with his situation. His personal experience of gay cul- ture is evident in the lyrics and in the musical style on },’0_s_itiy_e. , , _ . ._ ‘ ‘ ’ ' " "-=*-it1to~'*l'i’rs'6‘?li’fe*isr .~. - -‘-. vsaytzE'\§K;:§ I wantedto like fact, I wanted to love it... but I don’t. I respect the work that went into it, the heart, but musi- cally, it just doesn’t do it for me. As a whole, the work brings many adjectives to mind: funk, mechanical, cliché, trite, pre- dictable, sincere. There is defi- nitely a funk/drum machine groove thang going on here. It works _ for moments, but becomes repetitive and looses oomph pretty fast. I must admit to a bias against drum machines; I think they are great for composing, but when it comes to actual performance, a real live drummer moves me more. Musically, Positive is com- petent, with good production values. We are reminded often, however, that this is a small- scale production and a lot of electronic equipment has been involved in processing these sounds. The vocals are frustrating for me. Paul’s voice is nice enough, but somehow, there is no tran- scendent musical quality. Neither the beat nor the words hooked me. There is a very George Michael quality to the vocals, which, along with the New York accent, did not draw me into the music. Rather, it kept me feeling dis- tant from the lyrics. He also uses - just enough reverb to remind me of Elton John’s work in the 1970s. The lyrics t?‘ A are cliché. I P05,-five listened to each song hoping for more original- ity but I found the same formu- laic quality throughout. “It’s been hard for you to get beyond the pain, now baby. And giving time’s all I can do to open up your shutdown heart now, baby.” ' Lockwood is sincere in wanting to communicate things that matter to him, pieces of his life experience, but that sinceri- ty is lost in lackluster rhythms and lyrics. The title song, “Positive,” is about being HIV+. “One word, given new meaning, has taken me, and changed all my feel- ings about life. About love. About time.” Being HIV+ is a huge part of the artist’s life, but this song doesn’t take us deeply repeats clichés. Even cliché can work, occasionally, but in this instance, it doesn’t. There is a good piano riff in “You Know The Way,” although it dissolves into syn- thesized dreck. There are also some good rhythm hooks throughout the album, but they open 7 days aweek! n0" e P()€NlX RIINC, spirited jewelry 1 gifts )I' gallery When a Woman loves a Woman her Wing span breaks through the tight chrysalis of society's opinion. * 34 state street montpelier, vt 05602 802.229.0522 Paul Lockwood Endurance Records are repetitious rather than lead- ing into something tasty. I did like “Found a Cure.” Musically, it is the most inter- esting on the CD, and lyrically, it is the most engaging. “Ooh, for loneliness, I promise this, I promise this. For all your hopes and all your empty dreams, coming at you is a sure thing.” It’s still cliche, but this time around, the lyric and the musi- cal groove work. All this being said about the CD, I would love to see Lockwood perform in a small venue with just his guitar and a microphone. I imagine that, without the pressure of “trying to be meaningful” that I detect on the CD, he is probably quite an engaging performer: the kind who can noodle around on his guitar, with no one listening, and sound pretty good.V — Victoria Santiago THAT BOOK STORE... and THAT ANTIQUE CENTER Used and Antiquarian Books, Antiques and Collectibles Multi-Dealer Shop Used and Out—of—Print Books, VT and NH Books, Post Cards, Paper Ephemera, Glass, Linens, Vintage Clothing, Coins, Primitives, Pottery and more... Something for Everyone! 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