Danny Reid Carter opens
Barcelona with "Black as Love," a five-minute rocker focusing on the darkness of desire. The song opens and ends quietly with
Tim Carter's mandolin. Rock, however, is
Carter's forté, and his guitar work provides the glue that holds "Black as Love Together." The follow-up, "Green River," is another original that captures an easy flowing classic rock groove, complete with jangling guitars and keyboards imitating B-3 organs. There is also a nice acoustic piece, "My Baby Thinks I'm Great," though the lyrics leave the impression (as do those of "Black as Love") that
Carter has never picked up a copy of M. Magazine.
Carter's vocals are good, but inconsistent. He has a rustic quality that works especially well on "My Baby Thinks I'm Great" and "Voice of an Angel," but less well on the rockers like "Hillbilly Hollywood." Many of the songs on
Barcelona stretch out to four and five (and even six) minutes, which is fine when a song like "Black as Love" has a sturdy structure. Other songs, like "This Fire" (a duo), however, overstay their welcome. Still, the arrangements on
Barcelona complement the songs and, overall,
Barcelona is well written and performed, and will work as a solid introduction to
Carter and appeal to classic rock fans. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.