Sometimes a song takes the long road to completion. There’s many reasons why this may happen but if the bones are good it can be worthwhile to revisit and finish. After all, a good song is a good song. In the case of Reece Sullivan’s new 6+ minute epic single, “I Am A Good Man”, it was definitely worth the re-focus on the track and absolutely worth the wait.
“Periodically, I’ll have older, unfinished songs come to mind, as though they’re still wanting and waiting to be written,” says Sullivan. “Sometimes, I realize how to make a song better after a decade or decade and a half later. Beethoven was reworking his symphonies till his death, so I’ve always reworked my stuff as I more clearly realize what to do with something.”
Lead single “I Am A Good Man,” was one such track. Sullivan started writing the tune around 2010 and then somewhat abandoned it.
“Just before going in to the studio to record “Arkansas”, this song came back to me and I basically formed up the chorus-y part. Lyrically speaking, it’s meant to be a little over the top in its own sort of way. I feel to say something in art, it often has to be writ larger than life. So that’s something in the nature of what I’m doing here.”
I love the musical/blusey structure of the verses and plodding theme that seems to surround me as I am listening. If it’s possible for a song to convey a strong visual without a script then “I Am A Good Man” accomplishes this. Every time I cue up the track I am thinking of how this needs close a film written by Ander Kevin Walker or someone in the neo-noir genre.
Sullivan’s vocal fits the mood of the song perfectly. He takes time to tell his story and subtly puts some nice vocal movements before transitioning back to those addictive verses to finish out the section and begin again.
Another great thing about the song is the plethora of instrumentation and musicians. With every pass I am surprised all over again with spikes of harmonica, piano, organ and the sweet sound of a horn section. Throw in a tightly tuned and crisp snare, timely electric guitar leads and a really smooth bass line that travels up the fret board that peaks my ear every time I hear it, and you’ve got a sound that expands complete across the spectrum.
This is not the first time I have expressed these thoughts about Reece’s sound. First time I heard his brand of music I was pretty blown away at the textures and thematic feel of it all. There is certainly no let down this time around, either. I’m truly excited to hear what his upcoming album “Arkansas” has in store for us. Stay tuned for more on his new album that is coming soon.
-Tommy Marz
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