written by Maria Arroyo
This artist has been a favorite of mine since I began songwriting. Currently based in Nashville, singer/songwriter, Ron Pope, release his album, Bone Structure, on March 6. After my interview with him at The Foundry for his Stuck On The Moon tour, I was asked if I wanted to do a review on the upcoming album and damn near fell out of my seat.
When I had my interview with Pope, he told me about the new album coming out and said that this album was created for his daughter. This would be a culmination of decisions that he’s made, and hopefully, she can take this album and learn from it, god forbid he is not there to tell her himself.
Opening the album is a beautiful song “Flesh of My Flesh.” I love that this album is tailored for his daughter but still is able to connect to others as well. Bringing the energy up a little are songs “Habits” and “San Miguel” with their catchy lyrics and melodies. The mix of rock and folk, with a little bit of blues is very present throughout the album.
My eyes lit up when I realized that I knew this song from his performance back at The Foundry! His songs “Practice What I Preach” and “Wait and See” are ones that I recognized from his show at The Foundry, so I couldn’t help but sing along. I really appreciated that the recording and the live performance give the same deliverance in the musicianship as well as convey the emotional message of the song. The same can also be said for his song “She’s Good.”
Bone Structure creates this very ambient and powerful setting in both the lyrics and musical moments. I still can’t wrap my mind around how emotional I got listening to this song. This felt like a very vulnerable side of his life, so thank you for sharing it with us.
I think the song that had the strongest message in the album was “Dodge Aries Wagon.” There‘s probably been a time where we received a piece of advice that we never listened to, but looking back we realized that we should have. I feel like it’s one of those lessons in life that can’t ever be taught and that you just have to go through, so I love that this is something that he integrated into the album. The next song “My Wildest Dreams” is absolutely and breathtakingly beautiful, and I don’t think there’s a better way to describe it. All those worries and anxieties that he may have had with such a life-changing experience seemed to fade away.
Shifting gears to some past experiences are songs like “Take the Edge Off” and “Stuck On the Moon.” While these stories are not the prettiest moments in his life, he still shares them with his daughter. Both of these songs share two different perspectives of the same time in his life, but what makes it so important is that he is willing to share that with the rest of us, including his daughter. The last song of the album is “Legacy of Sadness.” The dynamics within each individual musician blend together to create a powerful ending to a beautifully told story of his life.
