Happy Anniversay For Alan Doyle And Boy On Bridge...

It is the first anniversary of the release of Alan Doyle’s Boy on Bridge debut solo CD released last year on the 16 May 2012. I had heard some of the songs off Boy on Bridge CD before but only on Youtube and quality videos made by Alan Doyle and some other live recordings for example,Lover’s Hands and Testify that were made by Russell Crowe and posted on his South Sydney Media site. Others included some official videos of Where the Nightingales Sing, The Rules Will All Be Broken and I Have Seen A Little. So it was exciting to finally have a hard copy of this wonderful CD.

There is something special about hearing music from a CD as preferable to Youtube and a bootlegged live recording. After all the not so hot recordings from Youtube and other sources I have listened to I was totally blown away by the sound, the quality of the recordings, the words and the beautiful tone of Alan Doyle’s voice on the CD. It was exciting and emotional to listen. 

I have been a fan of Alan Doyle’s now for a couple of years and followed the making of the CD from his Twitter posts. Bits and pieces were posted like a small video of the recording of Sorry. But until I heard the final full product I didn’t really understand what an accomplishment and how rewarding it must have been to get together with those people and produce a product like the one he has.  

There were a couple of songs I hadn’t heard before, for some reason, like Love While Love’s Awake, Light the Way and Perfect Excuse which I absolutely loved and were totally surprised by. And I heard a different interpretation of some of the other songs like Break It Slow and Lover’s Hands with instrumental backgrounds rather than just the guitar which although beautiful when played solo is spectacular as well.

I can now understand why musicians and artists are taking it upon themselves to develop alternative technology to enable music fans to experience better sounding music and experience music in way that many music fans never have.

One of the disadvantages of not living in Canada and Newfoundland and at the centre of the world that is Great Big Sea and Alan Doyle is we miss out on a lot of content that other fans get and discuss on social media. I had not seen the CMT special Live At Revival because it was not available in my country. I was not prepared to watch a pirated copy provided by Lynda Elstad (@lyndahere) however, easy it was to click onto Youtube and watch it. It was well worth the wait. I loved Alan Doyle’s commentary on the goals of what he wanted to achieve and how he makes music and collaborates with others. 

As Lyndahere informs us she is writing a birthday blog and the year that was, I would like to revisit some other things she has done to Alan Doyle. So the question to me is with this beautifully produced CD  and music special Live At Revival why flood the music market with lots of copies of poor quality bootlegged copies of live performances which to be honest do not do the music Alan writes and the songs he sings justice. Although I am sure he is fabulous live.

Even before the release of the CD Lyndahere had recorded and began bootlegging many of the songs recorded at the Live at Revival show recorded prior to the release and began distributing them on Twitter and through her blog. Although after arguments with other fans she decided only to release snippets. Despite admitting the sound was poor quality and she was not in a good spot to record she still went ahead and recorded without his permission or the permission of the producers and released it. Lyndahere recorded illegally a pirated copy of the special and made a copy available despite the requests of the producers to have it only distributed in Canada.

Lyyndahere will argue undeniably that Alan Doyle is best live. This is of course a unique experience they share and have in common which no one else shares. She has recorded endlessly his songs and music on videos. She is there between the audience and him and decides what we should hear, how we should hear it and what we should see.

I love his CD the sound, his words, the quality and purity of his voice. His words, tone of voice and music move me emotionally and we have a connection. The music is shared between me and him and there is no Lyndahere on that CD. 

After all the research and now the results I do not believe Lyndahere’s endless bootlegging and pirating does him or his music justice and I certainly don’t believe it sells songs, CDs or seats to shows. But surely how the music of Alan Doyle is seen by the audience should be how he wishes it to be presented and not by Lyndahere. Lyndahere if she truely believes then go with the flow and let what happens happens without her input however valuable she believes it is.

And what the reviewers said about Boy on Bridge

East Coast Music by Bob Mersereau on 16 May 2012 at www.cbc.ca/nb/mt/east.../music-review-alan-doyle---boy-on-bridge.html‎

"...Boy On Bridge itself is a title with a point. It refers to the bridge that joins the two parts of his hometown of Petty Harbour, Newfoundland, and it's Doyle's way of saying that no matter how far he strays from his roots, he's still the same kid from that fishing village. After all, it's a disc that sees him go from Nashville to L.A. and around, recording with his pals from those worlds. It's like a reassurance to fans, friends and family, and a statement of intent to himself to not let all that change him. But he's not going to stop experimenting with the music, especially when he has a solo album without the expectations of his bandmates and group fans.

So, is it wildly different than a GBS album? Not over-the-top, no. It's still centered on his vocals and energetic songs, and he hasn't delved into hip-hop or heavy metal. But you'll find new styles for sure. Love While Love's Awake is a ballad, piano with strings and such, maybe the most tender song he's done. That's followed by Light The Way, maybe his biggest guitar rocker, with big power chords and drums. There's a blues number that was written with Russell Crowe, and recorded with Colin James. Another team-up sees Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy guest on harmonies for the pop-folk tune Northern Plains. And Doyle's writing partnership with Gordie Sampson continues; the pair hit Nashville to make the modern country number I've Seen A Little. That major production is the first single from the record, and will certainly stand out as not the typical Great Big Sea song.

He's touched a lot of bases there, and it's all hung together as an album well, showing he can handle a lot of styles. What's NOT there is interesting, too. No tradional. No Newfoundland folk songs. The two cornerstones of Great Big Sea music. And that's the big stretch. While it's not a surprise for Doyle to sing modern music, as we all know from the band's hit-making days of Run Runaway and such, it is quite something for him to move so far from his comfort zone. Are fans ready to follow him that way? I think so, especially with the knowledge that when needed, it's still there in the band setting. It actually took me a couple of listens to remember that side of Doyle wasn't here, because we're used to the pop-rock of the group after these 19 years anyway...

Alan Doyle Boy on Bridge by Casadie Pederson 31 May 2012 at www.topcountry.ca

..."Just like the bridge that once separated the Protestant and Catholic sides of his hometown, Doyle stands with both feet spanning the short divide between rock and country. There’s just as much rock attack as there is country release on this effort, providing enough stylistic shifts from track to track to make listening an interesting navigation. If the jubilant guitar riff in the first single, ‘I’ve Seen a Little,’ rings somewhat familiar, it’s purposefully so. In his website blog, Doyle notes that he wanted to “write a real simple country/rock tune that almost any band could play real quickly.” Mission well accomplished. The song’s keep on striving sentiment leads nicely into the bold, this is my moment statement of ‘My Day,’ the first track on the collection to get a big country stamp in the form of a fiddle and dobro breakdown. The waltz-time fairytale of ‘When The Nightingale Sings’ brings a gentle breather before the bluesy shuffle of ‘Testify’, co-written with Crowe, kicks things back into higher gear featuring some searing guitar work from Colin James. The rock energy continues to run high on ‘Light The Way’ and ‘Perfect Excuse,’ while ‘Lover’s Hands’ and ‘Love While Love’s Awake’ stand on the more contemplative side of the stream.

Boy on Bridge has a lot of places it wants to go but, it manages not to make any disconcerting detours. The farthest side trip is also the most scenic. ‘The Rules Will All Be Broken,’ a collaboration with Mike Post, puts Doyle in an unexpected but, refreshing orchestral setting as he makes a plea to “Come and follow me. Oh, with footsteps free through the sunlight and the snow. We’ll cross the line and we’ll take our time. The rules will all be broken when we go.” It beautifully sets up the album closer, ‘Where I Belong,’ with nothing but Doyle’s endearing, scruffy baritone delivering a love letter to his home"...