Francis Dunnery – There’s A Whole New World Out There – (Aquarian Nation)

Francis Dunnery is a man of many talents. He’s a superb musician, a talented songwriter, and an insightful astrologer. He brings all that and more to the table on his latest double CD set There’s A Whole New World Out There.

Released on Dunnery’s Aquarian Nation imprint, the CD features Francis’s music, vocals and guitar in full flight. Acting as his own producer has allowed Dunnery the luxury of expanding his songs to fit the mood, with some tracks stretching out past six, seven, eight minutes in length! What’s amazing here is that these songs don’t seem to be overly ‘long,’ but rather, they’re set in a comfortable groove that often feels more timely than tedious. This is evidenced in tracks like “Whole New World,” or the folksy/meditative “Animal Life and Water Life.”

As folks who have seen him perform locally can quickly attest, Francis can entertain with just his acoustic guitar and voice. But when he picks up his electric and gets in a rock mood with this current collection of collaborators, things really start moving. Featured on this CD are Tom Brislin (keyboards), Jamie Bishop (bass), Paul Ramsey (drums), Brett Kull (guitars) and Dorie Jackson (vocals). Tracks like “Calling to You,” “Sister Sarah,” and “Let Us All Go” bring out the rock side of the set and offers a good chance to hear just how good Dunnery is when he cuts loose on electric guitar.

With twenty tracks to hear over the two CDs, there’s a wealth of pop and rock for the long time fans to enjoy and for new beginners to begin to fathom Dunnery’s deep musical insight.