image courtesy of D.C. Anderson

Album Review of D.C. Anderson: House Concert

This is a cool concept for an album. D.C. Anderson is an accomplished stage and screen actor, and these 11 songs – including 3 on which he’s credited as the lyricist – are enjoyably combined in a house concert-like set; hence, the album title. The performance is stripped-down, with only pianist David Robison for accompaniment, allowing D.C.’s voice to carry the remaining weight, his nuanced delivery providing all the necessary “color” and support. There’s a theatrical delivery to every song on the record; stylistically, it’s the sort of album you might expect from a star of musical theater, an anthology of songs performed as if from Broadway soundtracks, whether or not the songs were drawn from actual musicals.

What better way to kick things off than with Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Some Enchanted Evening,” which D.C. opens with haunting vocals, evoking images of a pitch-black theater, a performance beginning, with the singer walking into a single spotlight before a silent audience, anxious with anticipation. The voice and piano build over the course of the song, increasingly emphatic. What a great way to kick off an evening, an album, or, of course, a house concert. As you may know, I love a record with well-ordered songs, and this is a strong way to start.

Next, D.C.’s performance of “I Wanna Know You” from Anne of Green Gables is a powerful follow-up, with the vocals-and-piano arrangement giving this recording a much more fragile intimacy than is likely to be easily achieved on a big stage.

“There Ain’t No Devil” brings – believe it or not – a lighter, softer, more relaxed tone to the album, though still very theatrically delivered, which can safely be said about any of this collection’s eleven songs.

The slightly playful airiness continues, as evidenced initially by ivories that sound mischievously tickled at the opening of “While There is Still Time,” offering an enjoyable glide through lyrically heavy waters. Unabashed fun follows, as D.C. enthusiastically delivers the satirical “Loving That Lamb of Mine,” delivering Alan Chapman’s playful lyrics with zest.

D.C.’s voice cracks with emotion next, as he delivers a stirringly serious, slow-paced performance of Todd Almond’s “God is Good.” D.C. is the lyricist for the next number, “Janice and Martin,” which adds a bit more pace and feels perhaps closer to folk – theatrical folk, mind you – than the other songs in the collection.

This House Concert turns playful again, dipping into Song of the South for the ebullient “Sooner of Later,” which is, in fact, a quite proper lyrical follow-up to “Janice and Martin.”

D.C. wrote the lyrics for the next two tracks. First, “Crazy Still to Do,” sounds like it should be my favorite song from an irreverent musical, with cool lyrics like “I’m sorry for what’s missing. I’m missing something, too. But so’s you hear, I’ll make this clear, I’m crazier than you.” With a nod to song ordering, it’s the third of a really well-arranged sequence, both topically and musically.

Next up, “Song for Artists” is a bit more serious and sincere, as it soars musically and vocally, delivering a message of, as you might guess from the song title, thanks to artists. Following, D.C. closes the record with a slow-building, powerful delivery of Susan Osborn’s “Bright Angel,” setting the song down for a soft landing to draw his House Concert to a close.

I’d recommend a beginning-to-end listen of this record. The songs, in order, ebb and flow enjoyably, with tempos (and levels of seriousness) varying throughout. And, after a few listens, certainly you’ll have favorite songs that you’ll want to play individually from time to time, as well. Personally, I’m particularly fond of D.C.’s arrangements and delivery of “Crazy Still to Do” and “Some Enchanted Evening.”

More Recently

House Concert was released in early 2022. More recently, in 2023, D.C. released the album Sharing the Night with Darkness.

Looking Ahead

D.C. will be performing live in Chicago on Sunday, October 22nd and in New York on Sunday, November 12th. You can find time and location details for those performances on the “calendar” page of D.C.’s website; check back periodically as more performances are added. You’ll also find the occasional update about D.C.’s goingson on his Facebook page.