Lyrics from the title track of Grant Richard’s sophomore offering “Say It All Again” leave plenty to the imagination, yet they have an innate ability to conjure emotion from even the most dormant listener. Everybody makes mistakes, and most everybody wants to go back in time to make things right. Grant’s apparent longing for time travel though, has in its midst, sparked a revelation in his life.
“We all have second chances”, comments Grant. Fresh off completing his 2nd self-produced album, he speaks as though things have yet to be so clear for him. Contrary to the lyrical trend of sadness and anger on his debut EP “Hear Me Now”, “Say It All Again” offers the listener a plethora of positivity to grab a hold of.
The album kicks off with an upbeat track called “Open Eyes” that grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. In it, Grant offers up an eternal message of hope to anyone willing to listen. Track two, “My Everything” is the most energetic song on the record. Grant sings about chasing hard after personal beliefs, and not always seeking comfort in familiarity. After the listener makes his way through the two opening tracks, he’ll find himself hanging on every word of the third (and title) track, “Say It All Again”. It starts with a simple, perhaps haunting, electric guitar intro, but when Grant’s vocal melody enters, he’s got a hold of you again.
“I wonder where the dream has gone” - Lyrics from “Say It All Again”.
Indeed, Grant. Don’t we all?
“Better writing, more mature” says Co-Producer J Hall about Grant’s song-writing on “Say It All Again”. Not only are the songs more mature, but there is definitely more depth to Grant’s style. On the first listen through the album, one cannot help but notice the dramatic increase in electric guitar parts over his first album. The noticeable drop-off in acoustic guitar is also immediately apparent. When asked “why the change?”, Grant had this to say:
“As I was writing these songs, I kept feeling more and more energy wanting to come out of them. You can only...extract so much energy from an acoustic guitar. I wanted these songs to have a higher octane and deliver a lot more of a punch than my last album. Plus, I didn’t feel like writing the same album over again. That’s lame. [chuckles]”
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Grant Richard album if it didn’t have a couple of songs about relationships. That’s where the fourth and fifth tracks, “I’ll Stand” and “This Week” respectively, come into play. These two songs are easily accessible by pop-music fans, and have fantastic sing-along-ability.
Track six comes as a surprise. “When You Say Go” offers an edge never before found in a Grant Richard song. As the second longest song on the record (clocking at 5:21), it speaks volumes to Grant’s indie rock influence. However, it did not come easily:
“[When You Say Go] was incredibly difficult for me to write. I wanted to put something on the record that I hadn’t done before. I wanted to do something that would challenge me, and my fans for that matter” says Richard. “The chorus is very accessible, but every other part of the song will take you to a new place.”
“When You Say Go” is followed by “Only One”, a true tale about drugs and abandonment. This may be the most depressing song on the album. It is, however, masked brilliantly by an upbeat tone and melody. While commenting on the song, Grant added:
“I wrote [Only One] about a girl whose father went to prison for dealing drugs when she was very young. As she grew up, she never got to know her father, and she felt completely betrayed. She could not understand why her father had chosen drugs instead of her. When her father was released from prison near her 13th birthday, he tried to ‘buy’ his way back into her life with gifts and empty promises that he would not return to his old life. Soon after, he was dead from drug overdose. Drugs do nothing but destroy everything they touch.”
Certainly there are people who can relate.
Track eight, “I Miss You” reeks of a country twang. Fans beware! But, like any other Grant Richard song, the chorus is just poppy enough to pull in pop music fans.
“[laughs] I had that guitar riff for a long time before I ever wrote [I Miss You]. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to do with it. As things were coming together for the album, I decided to try the country thing for one song. I’m very happy with the way it turned out, and we had a great time recording that song!”
As the end of the album draws near, there’s yet one more pop single that awaits the listener. Track nine, “Let Me Dream” is a typical pop-radio friendly song, similar to the likes of the opening track of “Hear Me Now” called “Rain”. “Let Me Dream” however, like the rest of “Say It All Again”, boasts louder, and more energetic electric guitars than “Rain”. The guitar melody from this song will stick in the brains of fans for days.
At last, 37 minutes and 15 seconds later, “Deep Enough”, the final track of the album, has arrived. It is, by far the most experimental and haunting song on the album, but well worth the listen. Grant starts off by talking about abusive relationships, but this is not the typical downer song. It seems that way for the first three and a half minutes, but during that time, Grant is slowly guiding you through an ethereal musical journey that is slowly building in intensity. When the drums kick in full blast, Grant is then singing about how there is recovery and hope beyond everything that we, as humans, are.
“I wanted to take the listener on a roller-coaster ride on this album; and what better way to leave [the listener] than a miniature roller-coaster wrapped up in one six-minute song? [laughs].”
“Say It All Again” is indeed a roller-coaster that will keep old fans captivated and gain Grant new fans simply because of its diversity. This album has something for a lot of different music fans out there. After all of that, what was he trying to say with this album? In his own words...
your voice is gorgeous, and you do remind me of the goo goo dolls! of course i'm not bothered by the add, and i would totally buy your music on itunes.
Hey Grant! love your sounds! thank you for the request! Glad to be friends... How are things in Nashville? and yes hope you like what we do too! drop us a comment anytime, we would love to hear from you. stay in touch! E&D STARWAVES
Hi, thanks for the friend request. I've just been listening to some of your music... I love it! Just added Say It All Again as my profile song. You have an amazing voice! x
Hey, thanks for the friend request, I love your music, you have a great voice and you're a very talented song writer, I Miss You is my favourite song. I will definitely be purchasing your album and EP xo
Thanks for the add! I'm from Buffalo, originally and have known those guys for many years. Nashville has a great sound. I have alot of bands from there on my list. Like your stuff, too!
