Crossing the lines between adult contemporary and indie, all while adding a comedic twist. That’s what Charles Boyd has been doing for over two decades now. A finalist in CBC Radio Canada’s “Young Composer of the Year” in 1992, he showed major promise early on in his career. Due to a mental health condition, he’s shied away from the stage, and even interviews but has not allowed his health to put a halt on his music in the least. Not only a singer, he also tackles the guitar, bass, keyboards and drums on his albums. All of which are available for free on the internet. What that doesn’t reveal is the subject matter he sings about. One’s idea of comedy is not the other’s. The music on his latest free album, Crypt Kicker, is not for everyone, joking or not. You either appreciate this language or you don’t. And to see it as comedy is within his own mindset is one thing, while it is funny, at the same time it is not. Charles Boyd’s humor is one hundred percent adult, and if you can’t get beyond that, you won’t find anything to write home about here. It can be offensive to listen to. On the other hand, he does play well enough to see through some of the lyrics.
“The Lustful Dead” suggests more humor than it actually-delivers, but it’s hard to get through the words. It’s very lewd. That’s an obvious move for Boyd, so if it offends either way, it’s fair to point that out and anything you might not like, before anything to be praising. This isn’t your average stuff to sing about, let’s put it that way. But if you like talk of necrophilia, then you get the picture by reading this before hearing it. Even though Charles does have talent, you start to see every quickly where this is going, and maybe that’s why he doesn’t charge for any of his many releases to the public at his website. “Friends In New York” starts out like a promising song until the lyrics once again lose any-and all seriousness. There is obviously a yin and yang to his music, the lyrics being the yang. The tune itself is hypnotic though, and I got through this much easier than the opener. It’s apparent that health issues play a part in his music as well as his life, as it manifests itself that way, but it doesn’t change what’s laid down and recorded being what it is either. What may not be one’s cup of tea here could very well be another’s. But it’s also important to see and hear something for what it is to the artist, and playing to yourself always comes first or no one else will like it either.
And if you like the comedy side of it all, “Farah Fawcett” might be up your alley, but you’ll have to be the judge of that. It does have some melody behind a beat to save anything you might dislike about it, especially if you like the 70s icon. “No Coffee” has a beat as well, and an overall ability to enjoy a lot better than some other tracks. “British Columbia,” “The Saloon” and “Outrageous” show the best musical side of the album. These are all points where you will find no questionable language. And the closing track is “Graveyard Slut” which is yet another test on the ears. The weaknesses lie in the lyrical content and overall production. But it also proves laughter can be very medicinal.
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Larry Toering
