Customer Reviews

Small Victories

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I have all of Garnet Rogers CD's, and there are other of his CD's with a greater proportion of songs I enjoy re-listening to than this one - but there is one amazing song on this - One Bullet - which is very well worth the price of the CD and then some. It is truly the most powerful, sadest, and most evocative anti-war song I have ever heard, and musically one of the very most beautiful - as true (or more true) and pertinent today as it was when written. Our nation's leaders should be required to listen to it at least once a day, and then publically answer to their citizens. Each time I listen, I am deeply impressed by the heart, conscience and mind that created these words, the imagry, this music, the spirit. Also 'Off the rails' and 'Stars in their Crown' - both shine with startling and lucid wisdom, insight and humility. But - if for no other reason, buy this CD for 'One Bullet' and then share it with your friends - seriously, everyone should know this song, especially now.

Each song in this wondeful ablum tells a tale in lyrics and melody. Each one is full of wisdom, compassion and knowledge. Each song also reflects an intimate knowledge of its topic. This man knows, horses, the outdoors, sailing and, most of all, the human heart. Treat yourself to warm, healing music sung in a voice that becomes an instant friend.

Small Victories is a special album for me, partly because of how I was introduced to it and to the artist. "One bullet" was the first Garnet Rogers song I ever heard. I was sitting on a hillside on a warm August evening at the Edmonton Folk Music festival back in 1991 I think it was. I was sitting among thousands of people, when, in the falling dark, Garnet took to the mainstage and began the opening notes to this powerful song about a Civil War officer horrified by the slaughter of his men on the battlefield, "Lying scattered beyond number, piled like cordwood by the wall".

I was absolutely gripped by the haunting picture of fear, carnage, and death, which culminates in the final verse where he exclaims "I swear that when this day is over, there'll be one bullet left for me." I sought him out the next day as he ambled among the crowds, just to shake his hand and tell him what an impression the song had made on me.

Though that song alone is worth getting the album for, actually my favorite is "The Lost Ones." It is a beautiful piece about the sadness of losing people close to you. Let me just quote the chorus, as it sprung to my mind when one of my old friends died suddenly last week. It goes like this:

"So here's a health to those no longer near
And a glass to those departed
Who yet shine on through our darkening years
The brave and gentle-hearted."

Garnet shows his technical skill in this acoustic guitar masterpiece with flute artfully woven in. He plays with a passion that suggests that this is a subject that is close to home for him. Indeed, he lost his own brother and fellow musician Stan Rogers tragically and suddenly several years earlier.

There are no weak songs on this album. "For Herself" tells of a woman who refuses to conform to others' expectations, and is happy to arrange flowers in her home, even if it means she has to buy them "for herself." "Stars in their crown" is the observation of an elderly couple, whose gentle behaviour toward each other in public shows how they are still very much in love.

Tender melodies together with powerful lyrics make for an exceptional album, and that is what this is.