This article first appeared in March 1998 in "Vital Signs," a student newspaper of the University of Iowa College of Medicine. It is written by my friend George "Carpet Boy" Canas.
by George C. Canas, M4
When Jason Kessler asked me to review his CD, I immediately agreed to do so. I had no idea what to expect nor did I care. What intrigued me about being given the opportunity to listen and write about his work was the fact that something of this nature could be achieved as a medical student. An M4 for God's sake! A person who has relatively no clue where they will end up in the next four years, still havingthorn in the side rotations like anesthesia and urology to deal with, residency interviews, awaiting the dramatic changes that we as soon to be graduates will face as interns, etc. These are the challenges and uncertainties that I face in my life as an M4, and I am positive the majority of the class does as well, including Kessler. Therefore, his ability to produce a CD and continue with the regular activities of a medical student made me more than willing to make the time to write this article. My hope is to not only applaud his commitment to being a medical student, but also what he regards as special in his life: music.
Let's begin with the quality of production of this 17 song CD. It must be said that the quality of the sound is tops. The technology of CD is present in full-effect as is the almost flawless mixing. I did say almost. In some of the tracks there is some discontinuity of one instrument with another, but I am being way too picky. Mixing instruments in a song is very difficult and I kept reminding myself that Kessler played all the instruments on the CD as well as doing all the mixing. Quite a large task for one guy. But overall, I was impressed with the production value.
How about the songs themselves? Kessler seems to be an accomplished song writer. His lyrics are smart and not pretentious. How about the influences Kessler displays in his music? Well, he spans many different musical genres. For example "Don't Speak" and "Survive" seem to be inspired from early Who and sound as if they belong in Tommy. "Runnin' From Misery" on the other hand borrows from early Eagles with its "Take It Easy" sound. (This is) My Song" is a throwback to a late sixties acid trip. "Never Been a Time" is reminiscent of the Clapton classic "Wonderful Tonight." But my two favorites turned out to be "Be The One," a fine piano solo introducing me to Kessler's expertise for playing the piano, and the "Very First Time" for its hauntingly cool lyrics.
Hopefully, I was able to give good insight regarding Good Advice for the Damned. Objectively critiquing a classmate's work can be a difficult task. I need to thank Kessler for producing something that made it easy as well as enjoyable to listen to. He definitely reaffirms the fact that interests outside of your academic pursuits are possible if you are willing to make the time.
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