Search - David St Romain :: Dsr

"DSR" --Initials to Watch

T. Yap | Sydney, NSW, Australia | 07/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Prime Cuts: Just as She Was Leaving, Please, I Hate to Love You



Save for Miranda Lambert, none of those who have appeared on Nashville Star (country music's counterpart of American Idol) has ever curried much favor with country radio. Worst still their respective labels have bid them good riddance after one CD when their esteemed TV performances did not translate into sales. Perhaps attributive to such a failure is the lack of identity of most of the finalists. St. Romain, though he only came in third, has a personality to burn--his emotional grasp of each note with his Travis Tritt-esque bluesy rock nuances make each moment sound as if something is at stake. Like the catalog of aforementioned Tritt, "DSR" is primarily a country rock effort chockablock with some state-of-the-art radio-friendly propulsive smashes as well as some heartfelt big ballads; all of which still retaining a strong country essence brought about by the prodigious use of fiddles and steel guitars. The stellar quality of these 10 songs is further evidenced by its string of high profiled writers including country-rock guru David Lynn Jones, Dan Tyler (who has written for LeAnn Rimes, Kenny Rogers and Marie Osmond) and Jamie Hartford (whose portfolio includes songs written for Dierks Bentley, Andy Griggs and Deryl Dodd).



In keeping with his jovial character as perceived on TV, "Sweet Honey" swings at a chugging bullet train speed as a gleeful Romain revels in his woman's love boasting a rocking stadium rock bridge. Introduced by Romain's sensuous-sounding spoken Spanish, "Dance with Me" is a delightful Cajun-spiced "Dance with Me" scorcher. Considering David Lynn Jones' idiosyncratic shtick, the Lynn-composed "Ain't Love Strange" is surprisingly the most commercial piece perhaps chipped a little by its mediocre lyrics. However, lyrically it does not reach the nadir as "I Love You Period" does. Middle school English students are capable of better lyrics than "I Love you period. Do you love me question mark? Please, please exclamation point!"



Nevertheless, Romain's best moments are in the ballads. Here, a quartet of them heads the pack: most promising is the elegiac "I Hate to Love You" where Romain oozes into Roy Orbison mode on this 60s-styled ballad. Zip back to the present is the contemporary big ballad "Just as She Was Leaving"--- which tells of imprudent lover finding how much his lady means to him just as she was leaving. Delivered with just the right angst of desperation, Romain's performance here is winsome. Starting with a stark acoustic guitar before exploding into a heartfelt plea for forgiveness, "Please" finds Romain never sounding more like Travis Tritt's double. A little perkier in pace and disposition is the catchy "A Man's Gotta Do What a Man's Gotta Do."



Over all, "DSR" is the perfect object lesson as to how an artist can bear his heart and soul and yet retain that contemporary radio-friendly sensibility. Though one could quibble about the fact that these 10 songs clock in at a fraction after a mere 30 minutes, this is still a fine debut from this star in the making. Of all the various starlets or starlets -to-be that grazed Nashville Star, Romain with his gutsy blues-rock edge bears an indelible mark. "DSR" are initials to watch.



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