Michael Greenberg: Blue
By Zac Taylor
Managing Editor

If Sublime reunited for an unplugged show produced by Coldplay with some splatters of sequencing, you might get an idea of Michael Greenberg’s debut LP Blue. The record kicks off with the title track that grabs you with a crisp arrangement and slick harmonica playing. The young songwriter shows a mature voice with this upbeat tune about growth, and follows it with a smooth, R&B-tinged groove “Song to Remember.”

Greenberg sings with a subtle Chris Martin inflection on “Best of Us Die,” and it may sound like a Coldplay tune if it weren’t for the reggae groove, which steers it into Jack Johnson territory. The tune would be impeccably crafted for the pop medium, were it not for a very live-show-feeling arrangement including a breakdown (“Bring it back now”) and a lengthy acoustic guitar solo, but hey—you got to get the licks in somewhere.

The next couple tracks are perhaps the most ambitious of the collection. In “Death of a Son,” Greenberg narrates a solemn tale of a fallen hero over an 8-piece string section composed and conducted by George Woods; “We Need Help” is just over two minutes of ominous pleading over MIDI sequencing. These two sonic tapestries nicely offset the more straightforward songs.

“Portrait of Katy” is a bona fide hip-hop track. Songs like this rarely work, and usually fall into the despicable genre of lame white-boy rap. But this song’s honesty and cleverness is consistently engaging, centering around the hook, “it’s hard living with the fact that you’re running around my mind and not my body.” The delivery, rhyme, and instrumentation would impress G-Love or even Hova himself.

“I am not your friend, and I won’t settle for foe,” is the first line of “See You Through,” a slow groove that could function as a Justin Timberlake B-side in both its sensuality and plainness.

Greenberg brings the reggae back on the Jason Mraz-y “Say Something Useful” and closes out the record with “Keep On,” a well-rounded, optimistic anthem that would not be out of place on Steve Miller’s Greatest Hits.

Blue is a satisfying first installment from this talented musician, who clearly has the writing, playing, and singing chops to get the material out of his heart and into a tune.