New Review of Overcome....

I just received this review of my latest album, Overcome, today. I thought I'd share it with you all. It's very nice.

CD Review: by RJ Lannen, New Age Reporter

Passion Unfolds Sixteen Ways
I remember watching David Nevue perform once. An attentive group of people witnessed a great transformation as he sat at the big piano with a small spotlight on his face. We would soon know how much he was illuminated from within. His concentration was visibly intense, his mood serious and his gestures betrayed his passion. That was the word that came to mind that summer evening and still does today as I listened to his latest album Overcome. Passion. The new album incorporates not only David’s fervor for life and family, but his unquestionable reliance on his faith. The new piano works are a mix of traditional hymns, faith inspired solos, and new pieces that reflect David’s obsession with life and all of its aspects. The music is moody and moving, happy and pensive. And above all impassioned.

The title tune Overcome has David’s familiar tinkling-twinkling intro. Then the melody matures into a powerful song of emotion and celebration. That’s what great music does to your heart. Like a religion, it seeps into your being and your soul and gives you purpose and a zest for living. Music is a grace.

One of my favorites on Overcome is a delightful light tune called Winter Walk. Where I live the snow falls in big puffy flakes. For some strange reason it falls mostly at night. You wake to a white, fluffy gift the next morning. And for some other strange reason it disappears the next day. You have to appreciate what the day brings you. This song is the soundtrack for the snowfall.

Take My Life and Let it Be is a remarkable piece. The melody was familiar to me from a long time ago. Written as a prayer in the middle 1800s, its power and strength are just as potent today. Words and prayers last forever. This is an instrumental piece of course, but this stanza from the lyrics seems to suit David quite well.

Take my silver and my gold;
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose,
Every power as Thou shalt choose.

Another notable tune is called Broken. It seems to me to be a bit moody and yet I was drawn to it several times. It is the sound of surrender. Not the act of giving in, but giving over to something. A belief, a hope, perhaps a new path.

The Vigil is the best cut on the album. Lots of strong melody here with complexities surrounding a passionate theme. It is a holdover from one of David’s previously released albums of the same name. It seems as though every waking moment of our lives is spent in vigil. We watch and we wait for something extraordinary to happen.

Sometimes it does, but it just takes a squint of the eyes or heart to see it happening.The final cut, It Is Well with My Soul is a hymn by Philip Bliss with words by Horatio Spafford. The hymn was written after great tragedy struck Spafford’s life in 1875. He was stirred to write these poignant words despite his encounter with catastrophe.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

David’s heartrending interpretation is inspiring for its uplifting approach to a melancholy score. Surely we can not assume that his talent just comes out of the blue, can we?

David Nevue is the mastermind behind Whisperings: Solo Piano Radio and the traveling Whisperings Solo Piano Concert series. He is one of the strongest promoters of independent music on the internet. He has more than nine album attributed to him and his talent seems to have no end. Not only is he inspired, but his music is truly inspiring to others.