Tom Beaulieu Acoustic “The Mission”
Four albums in one! Distinctly different songs and styles! Tracks 1-6 feature the folk artist singing acoustic versions of his and other’s songs. tracks 8-9 have a 4 member band, and a much fuller sound. Tracks 12-18 are poems by Marie Vaeni with soundbeds. I was really surprised that this section of the album was so good. And, its unexpectedness on a musical album made it even better. I would have liked a little more info about her. Tracks 19-27 are from “Alice’s Doll House,” which was a stage production by Beaulieu that combined both spoken word and music. Best IMHO: 1, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18**, 20, 23, 25, 26, 27

1*. Slow - All I could think of was Neil Young
2. Slow/Med - nice guitar, almost upbeat song by Robert Hunter
3*. Slow - Tom’s version of “Forever Young” by Bob Dylan. I both like it and I don’t
4. Slow/Med - Mellow, but upbeat for him / original song
5. Slow - Jerry Garcia/ Robert Hunter song that pertains to the album theme.
6. Slow - Unfortunate version of the Lennon/McCartney classic, “Let it Be”
7. Spoken info over the next four songs
8*. Med - Jazzy, mainly percussion, homage to the author’s friend and inspiration, Ray
9*. Med - “Come Together” cover - unique and sounds great. Worth a listen
10*. Slow - Sadly, this cover of one of my all time favorite Led Zeppelin songs didn’t do it for me. OK music though
11*. Med - A slightly funky version of a traditional song
13** The experience of rain
14** A little girl’s ball
15** Description of a country home. Dog barking in background
16** poem about a girl, Daffney, with a percussive backdrop
17** About Mary’s dad and nature, with a didgeridoo sounding instrument
18*** Funky music bed to poem about experience scuba diving
19. Spoken intro to next chunk
20*Nice Instrumental, talented guitar
22. Med - Rock. almost a progressive rock sound with blues beat
23*. slow/med -Sounds like the soundtrack from a 70s TV show
24. slow/med - Neil Young sound, nice guitar
25**. Med - Funk music with a grumpy old man grumbling - perfect for Tom’s voice
26*. Med - Wow. past of a larger work, but a stand alone psych rock number
27*. Med - Another psych tune - reminds me of Rocky horror picture show.