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Rich. That’s Other Desert Cities’ On the Verge of Collapsing in a word—lyrically, musically and soulfully. Songwriter C. Charles Bowden
presents a fantastic collection of full-bodied tunes smacking of road experience, heartache, and desire.

Bowden smatters innovative studio brilliance in his arrangements with telephone line vocal delivery (the chilling “These Things Happen”),
amp-banging echoes (“Heavy Waters”) and playground noises (“Collapsing”) accentuating his already impressive melodies. But he doesn’t stop there. These songs are chock full of sharp, poetic observations and memorable phrases. Who wouldn’t be comforted by hearing, “Your eyes they breathe through the darkness / like sparklers on the 4th of July / As long as there’ s you and it’s only us 2 / I’ll arrive on time”?

On the Verge of Collapsing is an authentic, outstanding album with quicksand depth and steely-eyed musicality.

Recommended if you like Jayhawks, Storyhill, Wilco, early Bob Dylan.

Greg Adams
9/26/06

“‘It was not my intention,’ says John Haime, ‘to write any account of these things. I put it off from time to time, being conscious that I had no talent for writing, until my peace was well-nigh lost. At last I was prevailed upon to begin. I had not written many lines before I found my soul in perfect peace!’ Precisely! John Haime's soul began to glow as soon as he began to write; and my soul caught fire as soon as I began to read. The pen was a means of grace to him; the paper was a means of grace to me.” 

Just as the pen was a means of grace to John Haime, this recording is reported to have been a means of grace to frontman C. Charles Bowden.  It will no doubt be a means of grace to others.

Why is it that those who are beset by melancholy find solace through the testimony of others who have walked darkened paths?  Maybe it’s partly the sense that we are not alone. Stark and thoughtful musings from a fellow sufferer can be like a tonic for the soul.  You discover that you are not alone in your disconnect; someone else feels much the same.  Expression brings release to the one who gives it and to those who can relate to it.  

These confessional, acoustic-driven songs touch on many issues: love, loss, loneliness and sadness, and that glimmer of hope that drives us on.

Exquisite sounds shaped by harmonica, pedal steel, acoustic and electric guitars give this an alternative country/folk/rock sound.  I can’t help but hear shades of Bob Dylan and Neil Young.  

Soft singing alternates with a jarring, feedback-laced chorus on “Heavy Waters.”  I could have easily mistaken this for early Neil Young.  The track list even includes two short instrumentals: the dark and slightly psychedelic “Collapsing” and the flute driven “Recovery.”

One of the most beautifully done and creative tracks (“These Things Happen”) is the story about a man who gets a call that his wife has died.  He had just talked to her on the phone and can hardly believe that she’s now gone.  The chorus has a raw rock sound that is blended with a trumpet.

One of the highlights is the Cat Stevens’ song, “Trouble,” which is a comfort to the heart and ears.  We are also treated to the rousing, bluegrass closer, “Heaven Bound Train,” one of the more overtly spiritual tracks.

Bowden doesn’t wear his faith on his sleeve; you mostly find just hints of it here.  Instead you get a man who has entered a confessional that is colored by a carefully textured sonic landscape.  As F.W. Boreham writes, “Thousands of men and women have kept diaries; and have intended what they wrote for no eyes but their own. It is part of our deep, deep instinct for the confessional. The soul must utter itself somewhere.”  Tinged with melancholy, Bowden’s world-weary confessions may bring comfort to others on the verge of collapsing.   

Michael Dalton  10/19/2006