Search - Derek Sholl :: Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time

Sholl's CD Shows Us More than a "Good Time"

T. Yap | Sydney, NSW, Australia | 07/27/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Prime Cuts: When It's Yours, Pray for Me, Holdin' On Kind



Sholl's debut has a way of cutting right into the marrow of living with themes that speaks to life's situations. Further, what gives Scholl a leg up over the countless numbers of new male country singers is the depth and insights of these songs---some of which coming from the pens of Music Row's veterans such as Rob Crosby, Allen Shamblin, Frank Rogers, Ashley Gorley and former Sony Records' artist Trent Willmon. A former baseball pro, Sholl's career was curtailed by an accident. In the process of recuperation, this Californian native sought country music as a refuge. What is loss to the sporting world is country music's gain. Sholl's deep and world-weary vocals bring realism to the way he sings, sometimes recalling Josh Turner in the lower notes.



Songs that do peel through the surface of superficiality to get to the heart abound here. Most affecting are the ballads, especially the Chris DuBois and Ashley Gorley's "When It's Yours." Painted with picturesque lines, "When It's Yours" is eradicated from the mire of those over-maudlin sentimental offals with its realistic potrayal of how fatherhood has a way of transforming a man. "Pray for Me," an Allen Shamblin and Rob Crosby composition, is a the perfect amalgam of all the best vestiges of family, God and love without coming off as pretentious. While the gentle strumming of the guitar and minimalist pedal steel winks of the sensitive ballad "Holdin' On Kind" (another Crosby co-write) has Sholl paying tribute to the tenacity of his lover that is romantic and poignant. While on Harry Chapin's classic "Cat's in the Cradle," Sholl's performance comes close to the original with its Eastern guitar licks. However, all is forgiven, considering the song's spine-chilling message of how the neglect of children by a dad comes around in circles--a wake-up call to all dads who have little time for their children.



However, when the tempo accelerates, the quality tapers. Not that the more propulsive numbers are bad, it's just that they don't pack the same emotional punches as the ballads. Some of which are a little light headed: considering "Right," a humorous look at a barroom brawl over the lies told by a femme fetal. Similarly, other party numbers such as the title cut "Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time" and the cheating romper "Thinkin' About You" are average country-rockers, they are nothing to write home about.



As a balladeer Sholl shows promise. And as a debut record, this is a good start. These are songs that are incisive and they have a way of taking life transforming truths and enmesh in melodies that are gorgeous and affecting. Well produced and with the backings kept to a minimum, this CD does more than just entertain, it has a way to help us become better people in ways otherwise unattainable."