Nick Dakota – Vision
Debut albums don’t always aim as high
as Nick Dakota’s Vision and they should. No matter how good you are or anyone
thinks you are, the brass ring of commercial success and a lasting career only
lands in the laps of those willing to wheel out their best effort every time
out. It’s about the songwriting, the singer, the playing, and presentation.
It’s about showing the willingness to put in the long hours success requires.
Producer Robyn Robins knows that very well and his work on Nick Dakota’s first
album reflects that. This a polished collection with well integrated guest
spots from a variety of respected Nashville players. The city’s reputation as a
hub for great musicians goes far beyond genre and releases like this show that
off to exceptional effect.
The first song “We’ll Always Have
Paris” refers to the city in Texas instead of the French capital. It’s a good
example of the classic songwriting style dominating the bulk of Vision, but it
works quite well in capable hands. Dakota understands how orchestrating his
voice into an arrangement is important and raises his vocal intensity in
lockstep with the song’s emotional swing. “How Cool is That?” is another
fantastic example of the first class compositions standing out on Vision.
Dakota is a great “narrator” here detailing the appeal of the song’s subject
with humor and energy in his voice. He’s the biggest reason why “One Last
Request” arguably rates as the album’s most successful ballad because he finds
his way so far inside the lyrical content that Nick Dakota, as we’ve heard him
on earlier songs, disappears. The greatest singers are, among other things,
chameleons. They can disappear into a variety of landscapes, inhabit them
fully, and provoke our feelings and imaginations. Dakota, on “One Last Request”,
makes you feel every drop of the emotion.
“Fall All Over Again” has a lot of
promise, but the lack of a particularly dramatic chorus on an album full of
them helps this song stand out negatively. There’s an alternating approach on “The Deep
End” filling the verses with tension and releasing it with each chorus. This
song has one of the strongest choruses on the album; Dakota’s energy really
picks it up and further elevates it. “Used” has an exceptionally strong surge
carrying out of its simmering verses into a powerful, roof-raising chorus and
Dakota once again shows off his skill for shifting vocal gears. “Too” is one of
the rockiest numbers on Vision and is hued with a little more darkness than
many of the album’s songs. The rockier vibe continues on the track “Rain Down
Sunshine” and gathers further steam thanks to the tense, muscular guitar
working alongside Dakota’s voice in the mix. “Sledge Hammer” is one of the
album’s more inventive numbers and closes Vision on a high note. In some ways, this is a common enough song –
the narrator reflects on the impact a woman’s made on him – but it has an
unusual backing performance from the band, full of verve and energy, while
Dakota’s vocal sounds excited in a way we haven’t heard in many earlier songs.
It’s a song that brings Vision to a conclusion in quite a memorable way while
also setting the stage for Nick Dakota’s future.
8 out of 10 stars
Lance Wright
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