Dusty Edinger is a drummer by trade, but for this single, he picked up a guitar and wrote a song. He also wasn’t overtly a songwriter – at least not until relatively recently. However, he’s beginning to get more comfortable with his expanded artistic role, and it shows on this track.
The recording begins with an electric piano part, which leads into the song’s guitar arrangement. It sounds a little like Paul McCartney-meets-the Doobie Brothers, sound-wise. It certainly has a lot of ‘70s and a little ‘80s music sound running through it. Edinger sings with a high voice, that is both smooth and assured. Although the word “soul” is in the song’s title, this is not a soul music song. It’s far too clean, sonically, for that. It comes off like a radio pop song, back when soft rock was still a part of the radio genre spectrum.
The song’s title and lyrics are a bit curious. Usually, when someone is described as a soul survivor, brokenness is already built into the equation. After all, few survive a hardship without at least a few bumps and bruises along the way. Therefore, Edinger doubles down a bit on the brokenness with his song name here. The person Edinger is referring to is described as “another broken soul survivor.” Does this then mean he and this other person are both broken soul survivors? Edinger then goes on to reference another saying/song by singing, “Only the strong survive.” This is oh so true, too. We may not think of ourselves as strong people, but the fact that we’re still alive and ticking suggests that we may just be stronger than we realize.
How Edinger expresses his survival thoughts is also necessary to note. This is not a struggling song where it sounds as though he is just barely crossing the finish line in the race. He doesn’t at all sound weary and nearly out of breath. Instead, his is more a song of celebration. In it, he’s crossing over that proverbial finish line in full stride with his head held high. That’s a significant distinction. His is a song more about celebration than one where he whines and complains about all his aches and pains.
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Maybe this is why Doobie Brothers is a band that immediately comes to mind. It sounds a little bit like “China Grove,” only with keyboard – and not guitar – as the central riff instrument. It comes off a bit like that song has been Michael McDonald-ized. And it works. The listener ends up feeling good, hopeful, and a soul survivor, as well, before it ends.
Some music is just intended to make the listener feel good. “Broken Soul Survivor” is one of these songs. Both the track’s instrumentation and its lyrics are pointed up and meant to push the listener forward with the momentum. It sounds like it could have been a hit song, back in the day. Now, it is a fine song, with aural flashbacks to an earlier era. And if you’re feeling broken, listening to it just might fix ya.
-Dan MacIntosh
