Stepehen Peter Rodgers latest CD Speck On A Clown provides listeners with two albums in one. The first half of this CD offers gloriously mid tempo rock songs that remind of the 1970s with their sweeping, mellow sounds. The second half reminds of the folk-rock bands and singer-songwriters of the decade of Nixon Ford, and Carter. Both are equally good, and Rodgers offers large portions of both sides of his personal reflections and talents.
With its other worldly keyboard drifts in the backdrop, “Back Into The Muddy River” opens the album with a wide, alluring sweep. Rogers has a foreground keyboard tap out a soothing pop rock melody over a gentle push from the rhythm section. A moody atmospheric guitar line completes the scene. This number feels good to the listener’s heart and soul as it makes its mellow journey across the soundscape.
Next up, “Real Life” continues a similar mellow path as the opening track. Yet, here the guitar gets a flinty buzz as a second guitar sweetens the sound with a contrasting series of shiny, pretty notes. Rodgers’ smooth vocal augments well the easy going travel this song is. It’s Rodgers’ ability to assemble all of the instruments into one single vision of gem-laced motion that makes one want to hear this song over and over again.
Getting a little bit funkier on title track “Speck On A Clover,” a keyboard line maintains a persistent rhythmic groove, augmented by a cool, bright guitar. Rodgers’ voice glides over the funkiness, creating a perfect contrast between gliding and funking. His vocal tone has a pinched nasal quality that fits perfectly into the soundscape he has engineered while appealing to the listener with its plaintive cry.
An infectious pop rocker, “Self Talk” moves to a quick rhythmic track while a wave of keyboard sweetness washes over all. Rodgers sings it briskly to match the groove between him, making a fun, quirky song to follow.
A sudden eruption of keys and guitar opens up “May The Sunshine On Your Face,” an ode to happiness that Rodgers sings to perfection, smooth and sweet. Singing so warmly about hope and grace too fits his voice well here, and his uncanny vocal pacing works well against a bass guitar and drum team that keeps a perfect pulse behind the proceedings.
Taking things downtempo and acoustic, “Wish I Didn’t Sway” shows how well Rodgers voice can fill in the open space in this sparse accompaniment. A few electric instruments buzz or swirl in the backdrop, keeping the lead vocally enshrined in a light that implies the illumination the lyrics reveal.
“Where Do We Go From Here” is an apt song title. By this point in the album the listener wonders how Rodgers and his support players are going to match the quality and variety preceding. Flinty guitar notes strike against the stone of a considerate rhythm section snap. Meanwhile, Rodgers unfurls his pleasantly quirky voice over a haunted range created by the lead guitar. It is in how he puts his voice and instruments all into his painting of sound that keeps his song intriguing.
“Don’t Give Up” finds Rodgers playing a flinty electric guitar line beneath his folksy vocal. His plain folk delivery adds authenticity to his worldly philosophy. Crispness of voice and that flinty guitar get an augmentation from a second, more jangly guitar line, a line that wraps all of this up in a warm and embrace which smoothly compliments Rodger’s words of hope.
“Be True To Who You Are” continues the lyrical path into human empathy. It’s a good follow up to the previous number. Rodgers uses all he has, a sensitive voice, sensitive lyrics, light touches of guitar, and a slightly playful keyboard line to develop a warm, sympathetic song. Rodgers architecture of sounds strikes again on this perfect for a sympathetic movie scene soundtrack song.
“The Better Of You Yet” utilizes Ben Dean’s violin skills to place a secondary emotive line behind Rodgers voice, acoustic guitar, and whistling. Good move. That violin wrings a lot of feeling out of this and adorns the soundscape well. Rodgers’ voice follows a blues pattern and his acoustic guitar feels like a tuft of fine support below. Homey vocals, folksy acoustic guitar, and a violin interact to make this song emotive work feel wide even though the accompaniment is sparse.
Close out track “What I Am” finishes the album with Rodgers delivering a rigorous, uptempo delivery of vocal and guitar, and, after listing his gripes with a few things he doesn’t like, he concludes the album abruptly, a strong signal that he has said all he has to say for now and letting the listeners take it all in. Recorded at Tiny Bunker Studios in Connecticut and mixed and mastered by some other Connecticut engineers, Rodgers’ Speck On A Clover wrings perfect sound out of each vocal and instrumental line.
