Shawn McDonald

After getting up from my afternoon nap, I shut off Shawn McDonald’s Roots Remixed EP.

Yep, that’s right, it’s a sleeper folks. Although, Shawn has certainly made a name for himself with his earlier three albums, he may have thought twice about sending this one to the digital stores. While most of the songs are bass/drum driven, not unlike that of MuteMath, the vocals seem to have taken a dive into the deep. With whispered drowsy tones and Enya-like instrument qualities, this release may find it’s place in a worship/prayer session, or anything that needs background music. The artist has also amended his preceding tunes with heavenly qualities and redundant drum loops. And if there is a full bodied singing phrase, it’s few and far between or in the background causing me to believe he wants this album to be mellow.

Ambience and electronic sounds still make their way into this remix following the pattern of his previous albums. Although they are just more emphasized here, some of the songs were completely reconstructed. The added drum beats to the listening pleasures of “Scattered Pieces” and “Ripen” have taken a back seat to the sounds of this EP. While the folk/acoustic/rock sounds of the older albums carry the atmosphere of a Jack Johnson or a John Mayer, the new release is a far cry from where he should be at and feels like a lateral promotion in the proverbial corporate America.

The lyrics are a good place to start with some positive notes. The Psalms writings and concepts have layered a light dusting onto Mr. McDonald’s revisited tunes. “Roots” is accompanied, interestingly enough, by a harmonica paired with some tribal sounding low toms giving the imagery of a campfire drum circle in Africa. Partner this with one of the few resounding choruses on the album(”And oh, men like these/They are just like trees/Planted near streams of water/With roots that grow/Deep, deep into the ground“) and you get a decent song. Displaying more of King David’s writings are “Shadowlands,” where the bass leads it’s fellow instruments by moving up and down your spine while being overlaid by a catchy line: “The Lord thy God is my Shepherd.” This is one hit that is entirely remodeled with many instruments and overpowering tendencies.

Repetitive beats, soft vocals and mellow qualities run amuck on the rest of the songs. McDonald added a little Irish to “Light”, and in “Captivated” the really remarkable acoustic introduction prefaces some good lyricism about God’s creation. All the while eerie keys make an appropriate appearance in these selections, which adds something that the earlier records didn’t have.

Without hearing inventive reverberations, contagious melodies, or unique lyrics, I’m not sure I see this collection of remixed hits collecting favor amongst the fans anytime soon. Even with a few renovated songs and some slightly altered hits, it would be in your best interest to take a Sunday afternoon nap in the hammock of your backyard while listening to the ambient sounds of Shawn Mcdonald’s new remixes. With the whispering tones of his vocals, the redundancy of the beats and the calm synthesizing timbres, it might just lull you to sleep.

↓ One comment

#1 Andrew Greenhalgh on July 26th, 2008 at 11:54 am

I’ve gotta disagree with your assessment on this one, Drew, although I think we’re disagreeing on purely subjective ideas. You seem to prefer the earlier, slightly more upbeat McDonald while I prefer this newly revamped and reworked version. I think that the ‘Roots’ album is probably his strongest to date and while the remix isn’t quite as good as the original, it’s still pretty good. But, that’s the beauty of our business. We’ll always have something to agree and disagree on. Thanks for sharing your opinion!

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