Danny Michel

DANNY MICHEL PUTS TOGETHER ALBUM THAT'S LITERATE, CLEVER -Doug Gallant - The Guardian

If Danny Michel doesn't score points with Tales From The Invisible Man, it's not his fault. The Guelph-based singer-songwriter has done everything here you're supposed to do to make a record that works. He's crafted some superior pop songs, encased them in near-perfect arrangements and tied the whole package together with an almost flawless production job. Michel's follow-up release to his critically acclaimed 2001 release, In The Belly Of The Whale, abounds, with little pop gems that make you wonder why he's not yet a household name in this country. Tracks like In Your Arms, Two Hearts, The Invisible Man and The Luckiest Man In The World rank with the best in pure pop music I've heard this year from anybody. he continues to write very personal songs, the majority of which explore the way he sees himself and the way he views his relationships with others. he appears to be a romantic at heart but has a well-developed sense of irony that rears itself in songs like When I Get Out, a song about a man who spends much of his time behind bars dreaming about the sweet life that awaits him when he's released but discovers upon his release that everything is gone. Michel is a fine lyricist, literate and very clever without being either preachy or excessively cute. And his vocal delivery, a cross between Ron Sexsmith and the Kinks' Ray Davies, suits the material to a T. Michel exercised total control over this album. In addition to writing and arranging all the material, he played all of the instruments heard on several tracks and most of the instruments heard on the remaining entries. He also produced, recorded, engineered, edited, programmed and mixed all tracks at his own home. There isn't a discard in the pack.