Bill Wolford's Head - Exposure To Living
(CD, Go-Kustom, Eclectic pop/rock/folk)
Hard to describe or pinpoint. The first tune ("Exposure To Living") had us thinking that Bill Wolford was very much like another Daniel Johnston. But by the time the second tune ("Somewhere To Play") rolled by, we began to think his sound was more similar to John Lennon. A few songs later we gave up trying to come up with comparisons and just started enjoying this odd fellow's unpredictable style. Every time you think you have Mr. Wolford figured out, he comes from another direction completely. Amazingly, the album holds together well despite the slightly schizophrenic differences of the tunes. Other offbeat ditties that we dig: "Big Trucks," "Sweet As Honey," "The Sun Is Blue." Wait, wait, wait!!! We just came up with a good comparison for this guy. His approach reminds us very much of one of our favorite new artists of the past couple of years...Ivan Klipstein (!). (Rating: 4+)
THE VICTORY REVIEW
Bill Wolford's Head: Exposure To Living
(GKR 010-2, Go-Kustom- Vividsound)
If the implication of the author's name on this CD is that this recording is a head trip, it's accurate. Bill's voice sounds like a hybrid of Dylan's and Lou Reed's, and he offers closely-observed, finely-detailed portraits of offbeat behavior, with a wry sympathy for his characters and a refreshing contempt for exact rhyme. The consistent theme is of alienation and inability to communicate, but that doesn't make for depressing listening. There's plenty of humor and lots of variation in style, from the echo-ey "Somewhere To Play (reminiscent of both the Beatles, "Day In The Life and Creedence swamp rock), to the honky-tonk piano of "Suffer, to the hypnotic, high-energy "Big Trucks, with its sound effects and two sax lines (this one had me spontaneously hallucinating a laser-light show), to the razor-edge slide guitar work of "Sweet As Honey. For the savvy listener with a skewed sense of humor. - (Suzanne Sebastian)
