New Zealand singer-songwriter BRIAN BAKER has released his latest 5-track EP OPEN UP YOUR HEART, a collection of new and reimagined tunes, recorded at his Kaipara-based studio facility.
The title track is a new arrangement on a song he originally wrote back in 2018. “I really took an experimental path with this particular song,” says Baker. “It had been recorded previously but I wasn’t happy with it. I took it apart and built it up again, new chords, new lyrics, a more interesting and challenging arrangement.”
But how is it? Let’s take a listen together and discuss.
The song opens with arpeggiated guitars and some backup vocals before the first verse. The verse is sparsely produced with just vocals and an offbeat electric guitar, accompanied by a simple drum loop. This review is immediately reminded of the music of The Police.
The first verse breaks out into a more lush arrangement at the halfway point, that essentially sticks around for the rest of the song. There is a great bass line, some e-bowed or volume-swelled lead guitars and simple beats.
The true ear candy hits at the bridge, where the instrumentation drops in favour of a choir of Brian Baker’s singing an acapella passage. This precedes a brief but tasteful guitar solo and a passage that matches the bass with a fuzzed-out low-end synth.
Overall the writing on the single is tight and well crafted, the performances are all on point, and the overall mix is radio ready and slick. There are few surprises to be found, the song does sound a bit dated but is perfect for fans of Sting or Sir Paul McCartney.
Brian Baker is a singer/songwriter/producer with a passion for the environment, a theme evident in his songs, music, and videos. He plays guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, drums, and percussion, sings, and relishes his production duties, on his own songs and other artists’ works.
Brian is passionate about songwriting and is a student and big fan of Pat Pattison. (A professor at Berklee College of Music, teaching lyric writing and poetry. Songwriting instructor to John Mayer and Gillian Welch among others…) After moving to Australia from New Zealand in 1980, Brian performed with many Australian bands, securing a Sony recording deal with “The Ones”. Around this time he scored his first song placement on the second UnCanny X-Men album, (Australian rock act) with the song “Colour Your Answer Blue”. After writing and recording the top 20 single “Heart” with The Ones (released on Sony) he went on to co-write the score for the movie “Rikki and Pete” with Eddie Rayner from Split Enz/Crowded House. Eddie and Brian continued to work together as “The Makers”, releasing 2 CDs through Warner’s East West label, including the hit single “Big Picture”. Together with drummer Michael Barker, they toured Australia and New Zealand with the B52’s and appeared on TV shows like MTV, Countdown, Hey Hey It’s Saturday, Tonight Live, and The Midday Show. Eddie and Brian still work together from time to time, with Eddie contributing mixing tips and critique on his releases, plus various bits of keyboards on Brian’s other work. They performed together at the Waiheke Island International Jazz Festival in 2012 to delighted crowds and recently released an album of outtakes and live recordings from The Makers.
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