Point of Entry

This well-developed collection of songs is a potpourri of protestation, quiet observation, passionate gusto, pleasantly eerie urbanism, and around-the-corner topicality. Larry Murante possesses a mellifluous voice that can nonetheless yip and yelp when needed or rise in indignation. He writes, though, in small and large surprises, as in Paul's Song, chronicling a case of mistaken assumption that leads to the narrator deepening his appreciation of the subtleties of the human mind.

Mrs. Crouch introduces a ghostly tale of yet another false preacher, this time one who engenders a string of tragedies that lead to a haunting in the singer's boyhood house, the spectre of a woman deeply wronged and still trying to live life as it should have been. Rather than try for the stereotypical quality of 'touching', Murante chose instead to show an unusual acceptance of the paranormal in a young boy.

Murante has a quality that calls to mind Marc Cohn, Cliff Eberhardt, Iain Matthews, David Wilcox, and the kind of musician that you just can't get enough of, as every aspect of each song is perfection with gentle hooks, mellow instrumentation, a very polished voice, and top-notch production. Had Terence Boylan, Eric Anderson, and a few other folk mainstreamers been as consistent as Larry is here, they would've enjoyed a much better heyday. Point of Entry, in contrast, has staying power and should be finding easy egress into any and all airwaves intelligent enough to know quality when they hear it.

Edited by: David N. Pyles
(dnpyles@acousticmusic.com)