"True Loves Eyes"
By Daniel Goodman
From the album Cold Wind

I don't know what it is, but there is something appealing to my ears about beautiful music paired with gruff vocals. From Tom Waits to Neil Young to Mark Knopfler and of course Bob Dylan the ability to write gorgeous songs mixed with gritty, rough-shod vocals seems innate in so many of my musical heroes. I may soon be adding Daniel Goodman to that list. His new album Cool Wind is full of these pretty, acoustic based songs underlain with vocals that might come from the guy digging the ditch next door.

"True Loves Eyes" has that Knopfler lilt to it - full of upbeat swing and slightly Irish sounding instrumentation. It is carried along by bright acoustic strumming, but accented with some fine electric guitar chords. Goodman's vocals remain gruff but here are underscored by the panoply of instruments carrying the song into all sorts of happy places.

Its the kind of song that needs to be played at a summer barbeque. The sort of tune that ought to find its way into the score of a movie just before the credits roll when everything turns out all right. Or better yet its a track that might not become a big hit, but will surely be passed around, and around, and again to and from music lovers who can dig on the joy of hearing a great song. Its a song that were it made 15 years ago would likely find itself on countless mix-tapes right there at the end of side B as the perfect send off to a great mix.

You can stream this track here at BlindedBySound and listen to the entire album at SoundCloud. To learn more about Goodman, check out Devious Planet.