Colin Hay - Transcendental Highway

Solo Electric/Acoustic Guitar/Vocal CD (with guest musicians) by Colin Hay, lead singer of Men At Work. Album Description

Trancendentistry

Colin Hay is one of those rare songwriters that get better and better as the age. Like Warren Zevon, John Haitt, Loudon Wainwright it seems the better they get, the less recognition they get from the larger public.

This cd is sort of middle-era-solo-Hay. You can hear a few experiments here that don't quite come off.

The title track's spoken word style is one such attempt. He later nailed it perfectly with the song 'Are You Looking At Me', of the same titled album in 2007.

The songs that are as solid as his later work are 'I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You', 'My Brilliant Feat' and 'Freedom Calling'.

But taken as a whole this is still the work of a master songwriter and well worth listening to. It's definitely grown on me and is now on regular rotation.
March 6, 2008

It's OK but nothing to write home about...

Having just reviewed Colin Hay's "Man at Work" album from 2002, I decided to give another of his albums, "Transcendental Highway" a listen. Unlike "Man at Work", this album contains nothing from his "Men at Work" days of the 80's. It is entirely new music of his own. After a few spins, here's what I think of the album...

This album has one overriding theme, which is that of lost love. Most of the tracks tell the same story different ways. That story is one of the singer/narrator being in love with someone who is apparently no longer in love with him. The tracks "Don't Believe You Anymore", "Goodbye My Red Rose", "If I Go", "I'm Doing Fine", "I'll Leave the Light On", and "I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You" all tell basically this same story. I get the impression that this album was more of a therapy for Colin Hay than anything else.

"Transcendental Highway" features a very pleasant background music track with some backing vocals, but is a rather strange spoken-word piece rather than Colin Hay singing. It kind of sounds like something you'd hear on a "motivation album" from some self-help guru. For example, consider these lines from early in the song: "It's true you know, horizons are unlimited. It's a little challenge, with a little incentive and willpower, but a single suggestion. Take it out, go on, take it out, right out. You feel so... connected. Now you're driving to new heights..." As background music, this would be fine. It's soft and "spacey" but not especially coherent. I can't say that I recommend it as music you sit and listen actively to.

"My Brilliant Feat" talks about someone whose "15 minutes of fame" appears to have passed, and they're left wondering why no one takes them seriously anymore, saying "Did someone call my name, like a distant drum that's beating, or is it just another dream of long ago?...Once upon a time, I could do no wrong. Though the candle flickers, the flame is never gone... The world it won't wait for you. It's got its own things to do.... as I listen to the silence, I can hear thunder in the distance." Nicely written, and well-performed on the album.

"Goodbye My Red Rose" is one of the better songs on the album, and another of the recurring theme of lost love. Hay's vocals and the lyrics are both well above average. "If I Go" starts off like something from the 70's, in a sort of a "Dr. Hook" or "Eagles" style. Later on, it sounds more like a modern (or at least 80s-like) song. As with the earlier songs, there is a recurring theme that a love is over with but the singer isn't ready to give up on it just yet, hoping he can "fix whatever's broken". I can't say that it's an especially inspired song.

"I'm Doing Fine" is a rather downbeat, depressing song. In this case, the singer has run into his "ex" somewhere and asks how she's doing, tells her he's doing fine, and gives the impression that he probably isn't. The lyrics in this song include very lackluster lines like "Yes, I'm Doin' Fine, and thanks for askin'. It's been a long time, you know time keeps passin'..." Hay's vocals on the song are excellent as usual, but the song is not the best showcase for his singing talent.

"Wash It All Away" is a song about self-reliance and not getting too upset when others refuse to sympathize with you or what you're going through. This makes it a good fit with the "lost love" theme. It's a more upbeat song than most on the album. The beat is a little quicker than most of the other songs. The music has elements of 90's instrumentals and 70's sounds mixed in occasionally.

"Cactus" is a pleasant instrumental piece that would fit well in some movie soundtrack somewhere.

"Death Row Conversation" tells the story of a man named Jake on death row, who wonders how his executioners can really know that his death will be painless, and appears to have found religion in those last moments. A good piece of songwriting, and a fairly original topic (at least among the music I've listened to in my lifetime). The style of the acoustic guitar on this track helps to lend the song a sense of peace and loneliness.

"I'll Leave The Light On" is a more upbeat song about lost love, and seems to imply that the singer/narrator in this case is getting his act together (though he still holds out some hope that the object of his affections decides to come back, leaving the light on for her).

"Freedom Calling" is another of the songs that doesn't fit into the overall theme of the album. It's interesting in that it contains what appears to be a bagpipe solo within it - something you don't usually hear in rock albums. It's a slightly better than average song on the album.

"I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You" is, in spite of being in the recurring "lost love" theme of the album, one of the stronger songs. Like "I'm Doing Fine", it's not a happy song, as you can gather from the title, but it's extremely well written. For example, lines like the following convey a state of mind that anyone who's been in love and lost that love can understand: "I drink good coffee every morning/Comes from a place that's far away/And when I'm done I feel like talking/Without you here there is less to say/I don't want you thinking I'm unhappy/What is closer to the truth/That if I lived till I was 102/I just don't think I'll ever get over you" and "I still find pieces of your presence here/Even after all these years/But I don't want you thinking I don't get asked to dinner/'Cause I'm here to say that I sometimes do/Even though I may soon feel the touch of love/I just don't think I'll ever get over you". I thought Hay's vocals on this track sounded quite a bit like Elvis Costello.

I can't say that this is a great album. I'm not entirely comfortable even calling it a "good" album, so I think I'll describe it as a "decent" album. I've certainly heard worse, and I've definitely heard better - from Colin Hay himself. If it wasn't for the strength of "I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You" and "My Brilliant Feat", I'm not sure I could give it a "decent" rating. On a 1-10 scale, this earns about a 6 overall with 2 tracks getting 8's or 9's, and the rest getting something more like a 4-5.

August 23, 2005

Great voice and guitar, but the songs are lacking

I know I'm the only one who didn't like this album. I listened through it once and loved the sound of his voice and the guitar. But I thought the lyrics and songs were just lame. I was looking forward to this album after hearing one of the songs on the "Garden State" sound track but I was pretty disappointed and sold the CD after one listen through. It's not music you can just have in the background. It's pace is such that you really listen to the words and unfortunately the songs just didn't do it for me. I truly wish he could get some great song writing because otherwise, his voice is great. January 28, 2005

THIS ALBUM ROCKS THE HIGH WAY

THIS ALBUM BRINGS OUT THE BRIGHTER SIDE OF COLIN HAY,IF I COULD THIS CD WOULD BE RATED 6 STARS August 19, 2003

Hay's Highway

Interested in Men at Work during my teenage years, I downloaded some songs online by Colin Hay, out of curiosity. I was pleasantly surprised at what I heard. Perhaps my low expectations were a contributing factor, but I found myself enjoying his songs immensely. I find that I enjoy his solo renditions even more than men at work. He is a real talent. Not only does he have a good voice, but he is also a talented musician and lyricist. I found his lyrics to be profound and the music soothing. Further, if you are a fan of Pete Townshend's solo works, you'll find something enjoyable about Colin Hay. February 4, 2003

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