Search - His Name Is Alive :: Stars on Esp

A fascinating view of the future by means of oldies rock

Christopher Culver | 01/15/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Warren Defever ("His Name is Alive"), Livonia, Michigan's greatest musical visionary, showed an impressive new maturity with his 1996 album STARS ON ESP. The result of three years of painstaking recording, STARS ON ESP breaks from the haunting ethereal atmospheres of HNIA's first two albums and the almost-mainstream alt-rock of 1993's MOUTH BY MOUTH. STARS ON ESP is the story of Defever's sudden love affair with oldies radio and old-time folk stylings.



The album's central motif revolves around three versions of a old folk song. The first, "This World is Not My Home," is pure rock n' roll. The second, "I Can't Live in This World Anymore" is an acoustic folk-rock treatment. However, it is the third version, "Last One," which stands out the most. Featuring a gospel choir over an old-time wire-loop recording, nothing could have been more different than what Defever had previously released.



Oldies radio obviously meant a lot to Defever, influencing songs like "Country Girl," "The Bees," and "What Else is New List." Nonetheless, Warren's offbeat lyrics, here articulated by Karin Oliver and Erika Hoffmann, aren't something you'd hear on the AM dial.



Although the production isn't as polished as His Name is Alive's 1998 album FT. LAKE, the oldies-experimentation and novelty of STARS ON ESP make it deserving of notice."