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Review: 'DIEHL, WILL'
'I Am Free'   


-  Genre: 'Folk' -  Release Date: '1995'

Our Rating:
Here is the one that got away.

Originally released in 1995, Will Diehl's "I Am Free" (http://www.willdiehl.com) is an acoustic pop record that predates the current mania towards John Mayer and Jack Johnson. In other words, it is closer to country and classic rock than the post-alternative sounds of Mayer and his imitators. There's no garbled phrasing or self-consciously quirky lines, just adult rock at its finest.

Ironically, though, I kept thinking of who Diehl's voice reminded me of, and it was none other than Glen Phillips of the alternative group Toad the Wet Sprocket, who had a string of crossover Top-40 hits in the early '90s such as "All I Want." However, Diehl's lyrics are not from the underground nor do they have a collegiate bent. These are songs for grown-ups, especially couples in love.

"You Are the Warmth" and "Real Love" are both hopelessly romantic, Adult Contemporary tracks that are devoid of the studio gloss which often mutes the emotions in this material. Less commercial and more artistic is "Sunlight Dancing," its lovely, atmospheric guitars (you can almost imagine the rolling waves in the lyrics) complementing Diehl's poetic words: "Moonlight on a mountain meadow/Gentle breeze through silken hair/Sky above of endless diamonds/Peaceful feeling everywhere." Outstanding writing.

To Diehl, a love for a woman is connected with his affection for nature; they go hand in hand, and "I Am Free" will liberate your soul from the hardships of a reality-bitten everyday existence. Bravo.
  author: Adam Harrington

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DIEHL, WILL - I Am Free