Tom Pacheco is an artist with something to say. Somewhere between a singer/songwriter and a protest singer, he concerns himself with issues ranging from the brevity of life to the environment. When the album opens with, "Under a plain smothered by shopping malls," many listeners will feel comfortable pegging Pacheco as another left-leaning folksinger with good -- though unrealistic -- intentions. The remainder of the song, however, reads more like a poem, offering a prosaic rendering of the streams, grass, and sun of the plains, combining lyricism with politics. In "If I Could Come Back," the singer wishes for no more than to return as a "summer night," while "What We Left Behind" longs for a simpler way of living, one more connected to community and less connected to the television. Even when Pacheco wears his heart on his liberal sleeve, he adds a poetic touch to his compositions. "Butterfly" immortalizes Julia Hill's two-year struggle to save old-growth redwoods, while "Heroes" speaks more generally about the need for contemporary champions. Most of these tracks are simply arranged with pianos and guitars offering a gentle underpinning to Pacheco's poignant lyrics. When a track utilizes a noisy drum kit as on "What About Us," it's to emphasize the angry lyric. While political progressives will no doubt be attracted to Pacheco's committed vision, anyone who enjoys good music and expressive lyrics will also want to pick up a copy.
© Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. /TiVo