Happen Again

 

 

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There's a lot of bias involved in this review but I'm doing it anyway.

This is the CD Andy Kim fans have been awaiting for years and we are not disappointed. Every song is a gem, stamped with Andy's writing and vocal styles. In June of 2010, Andy and his great band and backup singers are embarking on their first "across Canada" tour. Lucky Canadians will be able to see them perform music from this wonderful CD. An Andy Kim concert is not to be missed. Check [...] for concert dates.

As for Amazon.ca's service, it was excellent. I ordered it from the U.S. and received my order days before I expected it.

The first reviewer did an excellent job reviewing this new CD, so there isn't much more to add.
Andy is a hometown hero in Montreal, and we've loved him for 40 years!
"Happen Again" is a brilliant album, but I have given it only 4 out of 5 stars because 4 of the 10 tracks were previously released on the "I Forgot To Mention" EP in 2004 (Andy, why repeat yourself?)
Also a bit frustrating that purchasers of this CD are instructed to go online in order to see credits and lyrics (for 13 bucks they could have been printed on recycled paper and included with the CD - yathink?)
Andy - if you're reading this, hope to see you on onstage in your hometown very soon!
Or at least drinking cappucino on a terrace on Crescent street!

When you're Andy Kim, writing songs is both easy and difficult. The "easy" part is easy to explain: The crafting of a melody, chords, and lyrics are second nature for an adult who's been composing virtually since the cradle. The difficult part is the deep introspection that precedes the writing, often with an accompanying emotional upheaval. Other songwriters may opt to skip this part of the process entirely, but then other songwriters are not Andy Kim. Andy Kim is an artist who shares his thoughts, his emotions, his life experiences - his very soul - through his music.

This isn't to say that Andy Kim's songs are morbid or self-pitying. Quite the contrary - Kim's songs inspire thought and reflection, but they're neither heavy-handed nor melodramatic. His songs inspire us, yet they also entertain, first and last. This is what makes Andy Kim - a contemporary singer/composer who started his musical journey as a teenager at New York's famous Brill Building in the late 1960's and subsequently had an international hit with "Rock Me Gently" in 1974 when he was barely in his twenties - such an extraordinary artist.

'Happen Again' is Andy Kim's first full-length album in more than twenty years. Should anyone mistakenly harbor the idea that Kim is an oldies act, one listen to just a few bars of any of the CD's tracks should quickly put that impression to rest.

Andy Kim's latest masterpiece starts off with the elegantly sentimental "3 Days in Heaven," which sweetly, joyously celebrates rediscovery and renewal. He follows this with "Judy Garland," a paean to beauty that starts off with a deceptively simple melody line and evolves into a tapestry of words and images interspersed with a rainbow of music and chords and harmonies. "The Oh, Oh Song" is another welcome newcomer, one which gazes at its listener through melancholy eyes and speaks plaintively of a love found and lost, over a subtly dramatic string arrangement. This abrupt and unexpected heartbreak fuels the cynicism expressed in the bubbly "Love Has Never Been My Friend," although its lively, upbeat tempo helps to lighten the mood (some really great background stylizations don't do any harm either).

It perhaps comes as no surprise, given Andy Kim's relationship with parents who were heroically supportive (albeit puzzled) when the youngster revealed his chosen career path, that this now world-renowned singer pays tribute to his father in not one but two tracks. "This Is Me" starts off with the singer lovingly illustrating the parallels between father and son while simultaneously declaring his individuality. The subtle chord progressions and added sweetening bring a lushness to the modern and upbeat arrangement. "Someday," a haunting and empathetic look at life and loss and old age (Kim's father, who was well into his sixties when Kim was born, and Kim's mother both lived to be over 90), is ingeniously tempered by a catchy Latin American-flavored backing track; although its lyrics deviate from the strictly autobiographical, Kim's voice betrays the raw emotion he so obviously feels as he remembers his dad - few modern male singers can emote like Andy Kim - and the bouncy rhythm uplifts the song's mood to one of celebration.

The standout on the CD is the brilliantly arranged and produced title track, "Happen Again" - a song which, in my humble opinion, has "hit" written all over it - a hand-in-hand skip through the park, a boldly stated intention to return to the dreams and ideals of youth and to rediscover the natural excitement and freshness of first love. It's got a contagious, thumping rhythm and is enhanced by gospel-tinged background vocals; one can't help singing along with its optimistic refrain even during the first listen.

Other offerings on 'Happen Again' include the haunting ballad "Without You," which closes the album; "I Forgot to Mention," a peppy, guitar-laden, us-against-the-world anthem (another hit in the making); and "Love Is," a study in magnificence enhanced with dramatic orchestrations that serve to enhance the song's message of love to one of global proportions.

With this fantastic new CD, Andy Kim does, indeed, make it Happen Again.

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