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Lion Reviews Richard Buckner

Richard Buckner -- Devotion + Doubt
1997

The first thing that impresses me about Richard Buckner in his CD Devotion + Doubt is his expression. He captures mourning and pain without whining. While I am not too familiar with music in the Country Western genre, I found this CD in the library last week and brought it home, mostly moved by the color and graphic design on the CD cover. I like the neo-retro picture of the moon (presumably the moon), washed in an algae green, with the black empty background of space.

His music is not strict Country Western. I would say that this music is alternative C/W, if such a genre exists. He sings about loneliness, loss, accompanied primarily by his guitar, and occasional work on electric guitar. The arrangements feature some nice guitar work, and the production is minimal.

Buckner's writing in this CD is about the relationships he cannot keep going. I read somewhere that these songs were inspired by his divorce. "Lil Wallet Picture" speaks about the road which separates him from a person he loves "this stretch of 99, that takes so many lives. One of them was mine." He then describes his pain as he holds the picture of this person and the image of the U-haul breaking free at the end of their union. Breaking her free? Breaking up in a crash? The meaning in "Ed's Song" is obfuscated behind great production of two guitars--but it is clear that in this poetic song he must leave the one he loves. The writing in "Home" is more transparent, "do you stay where you're supposed to, do you keep your ring around?/my throat just feels so tight where your heart pumped all night/" and "the one place I wanna go: anywhere but home." When I listen to "Fater", I can't help but think about an American Indian chant, where the first line defines his thesis: "Leave and travel well." By the time "4am" appears on the CD, I am ready for something hopeful, a song with some breath of inspiration. Instead "4am" delivers more despair, yet he is not empty, for he is full of memory and pain: "I thought I's cured of any last chance/Unfastened + floored, now all I want is just a lil nothing more." The CD ends with an emotional "Song of 27", and with the smallest sliver of hope he writes: "On nights like this my hope returns, though I may be miles away from her". And we wonder if he is going to completely break free from this infliction, but to him it appears that the scars are permanent. He writes, "Never tell them where it hurts. Keep your bullet safe inside".

Poetic writing, emotional delivery, and effective minimal production make Richard Buckner's Devotion + Doubt a worthwhile trip into his heart.