Description
The Color of Dreams is the fourth solo album by the American singer, songwriter, guitarist, engineer and producer Derri Daugherty of The Choir fame, Kickstarter-funded and independently released on Lo-Fidelity Records in July 2018. The album was recorded by Stephen Leiweke at his Yackland Studios in East Nashville, Tennessee; and by Derri Daugherty at Neverland Studios in Cerritos, California; with bandmate Steve Hindalong producing. The vocal tracks (tracks 1 to 10) were mixed by Shane Wilson at his East Nashville studio, St. Izzy’s of the East, while the 6 ambient tracks (tracks: 11 to 16) were produced and mixed by Jeff Elbel (who also played electric piano, fretless bass, as well as additional percussion). Derri Daugherty is backed by friends like Charlie Lowell and Stephen Mason of Jars of Clay and Leigh Nash and Matt Slocum of Sixpence None the Richer, as well as bandmates Dan Michaels and Steve Hindalong.
For years the idea of a full-blown Derri Daugherty solo record has been an in-joke among Choir fans – he’s basically been promising one for nearly 20 years. Now that it’s here, I can say it was worth every day we waited for it. It’s a gentler, folksier album, as you might expect, and with Steve Hindalong producing, co-writing and playing on every track, it feels like getting a second Choir record weeks after the first one, Bloodshot.
But this is a deeply personal album for Daugherty. (Full disclosure: I wrote the bio sheet for this album, and interviewed Daugherty about the songs.) It was created during a difficult time, as Daugherty uprooted his life and moved back to Los Angeles to take care of his ailing father. The elder Daugherty died as the album was nearing completion, and his spirit lives in these songs. Most obviously, there is «Your Chair», my vote for the prettiest song of 2018. It’s a gorgeous acoustic number, Daugherty recounting some of the, frankly, amazing things his father did during his life: “I’ve been with you to the South Pacific, patrolling the Tokyo Bay, landed a plane with a flashlight in a field in Iowa, when your runaway ’44 Ford rolled into Bakersfield, we weren’t scared, me riding on the sofa and you sitting in your chair…” It’s absolutely lovely.
But the sense of enjoying life while it is here is all over this album. The title track is dedicated to a longtime friend whose wife of 30 years died recently. «Baby Breathe» was written for Daugherty’s daughter, to encourage her to take time and appreciate what she has. Terry Taylor’s wonderful «Between Nashville and L.A.» was written specifically for this record, and it captures Daugherty’s journeys between his two lives. Even «We’ve Got the Moon», reprised here from Bloodshot in a strummier version, is about grabbing the chance for a more interesting life before that chance is gone.
The Color of Dreams is a more varied album than Bloodshot, Daugherty working in a number of styles. Standout «Unhypnotized» is a propulsive acoustic rocker about trying to see one’s faith clearly. (Hindalong’s lyrics for this one are amazing.) Paul Averitt’s «Saying Goodbye» is a tricky folk song – try to follow its extra beats on first listen – and the slow burn «I Want You to Be» contains all the darkness that you won’t find on the Choir album. The latter song is about the ways we want to control our relationships, both with each other and with God.
The album ends with a delightful cover of Peter Bradley Adams’ «So Are You to Me», and then six ambient tracks that recast themes from the record in a more expansive instrumental form. The ambient numbers are a nice bonus, and given how little of Daugherty’s watery shoegaze guitar sound made it onto the Choir album and his own effort, it’s nice to hear a good 20 minutes of him playing like only he can. The Color of Dreams is terrific, and together with Bloodshot it provides a more complete story. [Andre Salles, Tuesday Morning 3 a.m., July 17, 2018]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-color-of-dreams/1406958900)
CD tracklist:
01. The Color of Dreams – 4:33
02. Unhypnotized – 3:45
03. Your Chair – 4:12
04. New Orleans – 4:20
05. Between Nashville and L.A. – 4:26
06. Saying Goodbye – 2:57
07. I Want You to Be – 5:33
08. Baby Breathe – 4:45
09. We’ve Got the Moon – 3:26
10. So Are You to Me – 3:35
11. Clocktower Inn (Ambient) – 3:57
12. Eye (Ambient) – 3:13
13. Mary Nodded (Ambient) – 3:05
14. Arctic Stars (Ambient) – 3:09
15. Echoes of Laughter (Ambient) – 2:48
16. Hearth (Ambient) – 3:32
Note: CD comes in a 6 panel wallet with lyric booklet featuring photographs by Chris Knight (includes 6 bonus ambient tracks not found on the vinyl edition). Also mastered for vinyl by Miro Svetinsky and released on 180g transparent blue 12-inch vinyl LP by Lo-Fidelity Records, limited to 150 copies (featuring the first 10 tracks as found on the CD). Available at Bandcamp: https://derridaugherty.bandcamp.com/album/the-color-of-dreams
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