May 22, 2002
Just two short years ago, Steve Holt was a man of numbers: a hardened
Bay Street analyst, specializing in the music and entertainment industries,
with over 15 years of experience. It was a rather daring and emboldened
leap, then, when Holt left the security of the rigid digits of Bay Street
to instead focus his energy on his own sweeping love of making music.
This was, after all, a talent that he harboured for years prior to dedicating
himself fulltime. But, despite being one of many career-hardened aspiring
artist-wannabes, Holt actually holds some rock solid credentials to back
up his vision of grandeur. He is a long-time, self-taught pianist, a past
instructor of Jazz improvisation at McGill University, and has found national
acclaim, including a Juno Nomination (for Best Jazz Album), with his 1983
release The Lion's Eyes.
Given Holt's roots in jazz, it seems a little bit of a surprise that
his latest musical efforts have taken a far different path. His planned
2002 release, The Dream (Trilogy Records), is to be a full pop/rock offering,
promising a deeper insight into Holt's own insights, namely through the
craft of songwriting to which he has fully dedicated himself. And, as
his first single from The Dream, ("We Need You") shows, Steve
Holt aptly proves himself as an expressive, genuine songwriter with a
flair for human emotion and an understated ability to provoke Real Thought
in the listener.
"We Need You" is a stylistically minimalist tune with a simple-yet-gripping
message, one of the basic longing for purpose, and is best self-described
by Holt himself as "the story of one man's disillusionment with the
things of the world and his turning toward a higher ideal". The simplicity
of this message resonates with spirituality, especially in the context
of the post-9/11 landscape. In a day when the world would falter under
the weight of another I'm-so-depressed-and-the-world-bites musical personality,
this song proves that music can be uplifting without returning to the
bland bubble gum days of music long gone.
Steve Holt is a perfectionist, and every aspect of "We Need You"
- from the instrumentals to the songwriting to the vocals - is polished,
the end product resembling a carefully shined gem. One criticism of note,
however, is that this recording is perhaps a little too polished. The
song gives off an ultra-produced, '80s, David Fosteresque feel, something
that could have perhaps been avoided embracing rock just a little tighter,
instead of swiming solely with the pop. An edgier song is what we're asking
for here, dear Mr.Holt; your talent is evident, and the glossy production
only serves to mask, rather than enhance, the overall impression of your
otherwise strong recording.
By Steve Rickman, CanEHdian.com
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