Angel of Music * by Roland J. Bowman (CD, Apr-2004, Roland J. Bowman)

Perhaps it is not legitimate for me to review this CD. I did, after all, sing the female vocals for it. I was surprised to be able to pull it up in the reviewers list of CD's, so decided, why not?

The artist, the real artist recorded on this CD is a friend, Roland J. Bowman. Roland is a classically educated musician, with an abundance of self-taught talent. Every one of his recorded pieces is original and honestly defies typical categorization. Some of the pieces are folksy, some metallic, some rap, and yet all are signature Roland! Every word sung and every note played was written by him. In fact, he played many of the instruments heard in the recordings, including the keyboard, guitar, violin(fiddle), harmonica and more.

Though not really a singer, Roland sings the male vocals on Angel of Music. His voice is marginal from a quality standpoint, but his passion is real. He asked me to sing the lead female vocals and I agreed, never believing he was really going to sell this thing! My was a one take, one afternoon nearly five years ago. I sang, because my friend asked me to, and because the words in his music truly moved me.

My personal favorite is the song he wrote about the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. 911010845. The words are moving, the melody haunting. I did the best I could do with the recording equipment we had. I'm not displeased with the result, but the song deserved a better singer.

If you are looking for something really different, something that others have yet to hear, this is a nice choice. Roland J. Bowman is from the Gloucester/Mathews Virginia area and interested listeners can find his recordings on-line. Contact me for details through eBay messaging.