The beauty in seasons is that they change, and each one offers a different palette of colors and possibilities than the one before it. That's something Paul Reeves knows well. Winter's Over, the Atlanta, Georgia based singer and songwriter's fourth album and first for Athens' Rebuilt Records (not to mention his first since becoming a father), captures vernal greenery pushing up through once-chilled ground.
The album's title track mirrors the thawing of Narnia, C.S. Lewis' captivating fantasy world. Reeves' lyrics even quote the words of Mr. Tumnus, a faun character in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. "Always winter, never Christmas," Reeves broods, just before the sun breaks through with a bright, driving chorus.
"Now it's become a time of new life and of hope," he shares. "That's really what I feel right now. I've definitely experienced a warm day." And Winter's Over is positively brimming with life. The album's ten sweeping, Britpop-influenced tracks are colored by crisp melodies, lush strings, shimmering arcs of keyboard and guitar and a new level of vocal clarity and expressiveness.
Reeves is a budding producer himself with his own home studio, but with a brand new baby keeping things exciting around the house--he opted to record with producer Stephen Gause (Downhere) at Gause's comparatively quiet Nashville studio, Invertigo Productions.
Gause enlisted a team of players who'd lend not just skill, but warmth to the project: keyboardist Ben Shive (Matt Wertz), guitarist Paul Moak (Mat Kearney), bassist James Gregory (Michael W. Smith), drummer Ben Phillips (TobyMac), cellist Paul Nelson (Jeff Deyo) and violinist Bethany Dick (Sarah Evans).
There are songs that depict the sweet, sweaty-palmed excitement of brand new love ("You'll Be the One") and the deep satisfaction of abiding commitment ("Without You"), right alongside songs that celebrate the experience of God's welcoming embrace ("You Make Me Believe" and "Come and See").
"I feel like faith and God are universal topics," Reeves explains. "Everybody is spiritual. That's not a Christian-specific thing. Also, love and marriage and getting the jitters on first dates, I don't feel like that's not a spiritual thing. This record is just me. I tried not to censor what was going on in my life. Every song is totally true for where I am right now. But at the same time I did choose songs I think that most people can relate to."
That's why Reeves' songs resonate in rock clubs, at Young Life youth camps and everywhere in between. The epic "Love Has Won" captures his vision for transcending artificial dividing lines all in one song. "That's a song about strangers being family," he says.
Music wasn't always on Reeves' radar. This is a guy who, from the age of ten, poured endless hours of energy and sweat into honing his ball-handling skills with his eye on becoming a basketball pro like his idol, "Pistol" Pete Maravich. But in the end, it wasn't meant to be. "My basketball dreams died the second year of college basketball," he remembers.
And that's where guitar -- the instrument his musician father had unsuccessfully tried to interest him in earlier on -- was there to fill the void. First came cover tunes, a chance to lead worship at his college and plenty of local bar gigs. Within a year, Reeves was penning his own songs and recording an independent album (2003's Free), followed by 2005's Face To Face and 2006's Invitations.
Two songs on Winter's Over together have a message that comes as a relief to Reeves, ever-driven soul that he is. The piano and cello ballad "Dust and Steam" is about being strained to the breaking point, and its gentle, salving answer, "Come To Me," is a divine invitation to rest.
And that's a little something he learned from his infant daughter. "Her favorite thing is just to be held," he marvels. "I can't remember the last time I was able to slow down enough just to be held."
And savoring those kinds of moments is what Spring is for.
written by Jewly Hight
Music
"Winter's Over"
(2008)
Rebuilt Records
$10.00
"Invitation"
(2006)
Independent Release
$10.00
"Face To Face"
(2005)
Independent Release
$10.00