Casey Stratton Standing at the edge
Released: January 20, 2004 Origination Year: 2004 Time: 54:26 Tracks: 12 Produced by: Patrick Leonard Style: Studio Format: CD Enhancement: None Label: Odyssey / Sony Classical
Track Listing For Reasons Unexplained Hollow The House of Jupiter Contagious Blood The Dead Sea Harvest Past the Rain Violet Room Cellophane Bloom Ocean
Casey Stratton Casey Stratton: Vocals

Odyssey's unique roster of talent is given another boost by the addition of Casey Stratton. The unique and unclassifiable talent of Casey Stratton is one that can easily showcase in the pop realm while containing the flavours that can stretch his crossover appeal into several genres. Stratton's voice has a very high range that, upon first listen, could be mistaken for a female's voice. But it doesn't take much to realize that his is a voice blessed with range that can test the boundaries of any song that he should be interested in singing.

Produced by Patrick Leonard who has, in the past, produced Elton John and Madonna, it's recognized that Casey Stratton has the goods that can carry his style through various tastes. And with an interesting collection of songs, Stratton shows that he has the mettle to push into a pop realm while maintaining a foothold in the world of classically influenced pop. His is a voice that sounds outside the realm of popular music and therefore contains a hint of longevity.

There are obvious sidesteps into arenas that are stylish such as "Blood" that sounds like Radiohead with an extraordinary voice. The pace of "Blood" is quick and the overall tone is experimental, right down to the quickened breathing at the end of the song. But the song is a part of a literal smorgasbord of approaches that range from deeply intropective and beautifully sung ("Harvest", "The Dead Sea") to dance oriented ("Contagious") to sheer beauty ("Ocean", "Bloom").

At times, Casey Stratton can bring to mind a Carly Simon with a mixture of other unremembered rock personas. But it's his unique voice that allows for dispersion and personalization of any song he chooses to sing.

The acoustic train of "Violet Room" is a refreshing discovery in this well rounded album with stop overs at many stations. Personally, I would have preferred more like "Violet Room" but this collection is an experiment unto itself while Casey Stratton strives to find his style. He certainly is capable of many styles to entertain us with.

Whether accompanied by strings or with electronica, by acoustic instruments or orchestra, Casey Stratton has the stuff to make spectacular albums in the years to come. And while this album doesn't reveal a purposeful collection, it lets us in on an unusual talent that can provide haunting beauty. With Standing at the edge, we get a glimpse into a man that can provide us with songs that can be remembered and felt long after they have ceased playing. This album of originals already has a few on it that does just that.

I look forward to Casey Stratton's next album.