This young Canadian singer/songwriter’s first two albums were incredible achievements, mixing Freddie Mercury’s flamboyance with Jeff Buckley’s vocal calisthenics and unhinged passion. All signs pointed toward a third album that would blow the top off all expectations, and contemporaries like Rufus Wainwright off the stage. Yet rather than make a deal with the devil a the crossroads, it sounds like he cut a compromise with a lowly demon (Universal – “Do us a favor kid and tone down the weird stuff and give us a hit will ya?”).
The lead track, “We Will Still Need A Song” is a crushing disappointment. His eccentric vocal quirks have disappeared, replaced by a smooth Bono-esque croon, the chorus as simplistic and dull as anything in the top 40. Yet Workman can’t remain subdued for long, as the song is nearly salvaged in the end by one of his fantastic falsetto yodels. While still fairly homogenous stylistically, the album recovers with a solid set of well written songs with thoughtful, heartfelt lyrics, rich imagery and gorgeous singing. Let’s hope this one sells enough to get the Man off Workman’s back so he have the freedom to truly flame.
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