Willy Porter
Falling Forward (1999)

review by: Michael Walls
Date: 6/26/00

It's difficult to pinpoint the style of music played by Willy Porter. The first song out of the gate on his latest CD, Falling Forward, is "Mystery". A haunting mix of guitar-based pop and jazz, this song appears to set the tone for a smooth and groovy jazz album. But somewhere along the line, the mood turns bluegrass, then rockish, a spot of folk, then back to pop. There really isn't a good answer to the question, "what kind of music is it?" Except maybe, "don't worry - you'll like it."

Porter's guitar playing is the centerpiece for this collection. But, without his distinct and likable vocals and without his storytelling lyrics, this CD could have easily been placed in a background or mood music rack. But it isn't background music. It's a crisply produced, well written, masterfully performed collection of songs. And each time I listen to it, I find myself noticing something interesting that I didn't notice before. Whether it's a sound or a rhythm or a piece of lyric.

Too complex to be called blues, to edgy to be jazz, too interesting to be called folk and too cool to be considered pop, the only label that would stick to this CD is "straightforward, good music, no work required to enjoy."