Paul Denis – “Louis”
Paul Denis – “Louis” – Single Review
If you’ve ever read any my past reviews or thoughts on the music of Canadian artist Paul Denis, then you already know he’s a man that puts an incredibly impressive amount of thought into the music he makes. From his record called A Passing Storm back in 2018, to the monumental single called “Magic Eraser” released just last year – he’s always revealed a massive amount of dedication to creating tunes that transcend past a mere listen, to become genuine experiences that have memorable dimension & depth.
His latest single, “Louis,” is of course no exception to the high standards this man has with his creations. A genuine blend of art, music, and history combined into one – Paul’s gotta be ecstatic about the way his latest music has been coming out. No joke, I thought “Magic Eraser” was as completely outstanding as it was ambitious, and I’d say I’m easily just as stoked about what I hear in “Louis” all-around. As a Canadian myself, I grew up learning about Louis Riel in history books throughout my years in school, though something always told me that I was getting a mainly one-sided view of the story overall. To an effective degree, I’d say an artist like Denis is doing his level best to help correct the record with the real information in a very sincere and tributary way that honors the influence his legend still carries today.
There are a noteworthy amount of folks contributing to this moment in music, and I will simply pass on Paul’s words directly to them…a list of shout-outs from the man himself that recognized the talented people that put their heart & soul into making this tune, which includes: “My son Kaylen first of all for rushing the engineering and mixing job. My son Evan for the art cover. Brad Moggie for writing an original jig for me and an amazing job he did. Shout-outs to Chris Sutherland on drums. Murray Pulver on guitar. Brandon Trent on bass. Michael Cleveland on violin/fiddle and an amazing first fiddle solo. Ken Gold on Saxophone. Adam Benjamin and Julia Veinblat helping me out with vocals.” If it seems like half the country made this list, it’s pretty much because it takes a village to raise a song like this one, and they really all do deserve the accolades for their remarkable contributions. “Louis” is every bit as involved, intricate, and ambitious as Paul’s music has ever been, truly, and not only have these wonderful people contributed incredible musicianship, time, and talents to this tune, but they should all be seriously proud of the results and they deserve to share the joy of their combined success. While they’re all impressive to say the very least, I’m giving bonus shout-outs to Kaylen for an absolutely remarkable job in bringing this song all together with the stunning mix it has…it ain’t easy to accomplish what he’s done with everything that a track this epic involves from start to finish.
Believe me when I tell ya – coming from the same country myself, it is definitely not my first rodeo with an artist or band attempting to fuse Canadian history into their tunes…and if I’m being entirely honest with ya, usually the results suck a whole lot more than they tend to be successful. That could potentially just be my own view…there are a few examples of some that have done amazing jobs with it like The Tragically Hip for one, who delved into extremely important aspects of this country’s history that weren’t the ones we always read about in our textbooks. The reality of the situation for the most part however, in my opinion, has always been one that directly reflects the history itself…most tunes based in Canadian history tend to be boring, because the majority of our history tends to be the same. We’re a great ol’ bunch us Canadians, sure…but we don’t really have the wild & exciting stories in our legacy that many other countries tend to have…to be real with ya, Canada has a pretty typical & standard story. That’s not to say there aren’t particularly exciting chapters to be found along the way…there are some, and Paul’s done really well in bringing one of them to the surface with this song based on “Louis” Riel.
Right from the get-go, “Louis” is gripping and it never lets go. The epic nature of the drums, the searing guitar tones in the background, the absolutely inspired violin…it all makes an immediate impression on ya as you listen, with Paul’s insightfully poetic tale not at all far behind as the song carries on. All-in-all, “Louis” is the kind of monumental song that is impossible to define in the humble words of a review – I could cite any aspect of the instrumentation or vocals or lyrics, and easily highlight how magnificent each element is, because that’s the genuine truth of the matter. That being said, “Louis” is the kind of song that absolutely speaks on its own behalf as well…don’t just take my word for it – LISTEN for yourselves and prove what I’m saying is true to your own ears by pushing play. I feel like “Louis” is beyond words in so many ways…it’s absolutely awesome to experience and discover its many twists and turns. Whether it’s the moving poetry of Paul’s words, or the wild expressions of the musicianship surrounding them, “Louis” has a smorgasbord of ideas & sound that is straight-up phenomenal to listen to. And I’ll tell ya what y’all…for a song that is over eight & a half minutes long, you’re going to be amazed at how consistently engaging every single moment of this experience genuinely IS…which in itself, is an achievement that’s rarely ever realized. I absolutely loved the fact that Paul has not only created a song that highlights a remarkable character within our Canadian history through his lyricism, but that he also designed this song to let the music speak to us as well with over half of “Louis” being completely instrumental. With musicianship and talent like you’ll find featured throughout this single, it’s certainly easy to understand WHY because of how incredible it ALL is, but credit where credit is due, it’s still not the usual route that artists & bands tend to take. While that gives “Louis” an anti-typical way of presenting itself, people are going to be truly shocked by the level of accessibility and appeal found within such a lengthy tune, and be right on the edge of their seat as they listen to every moment of it. It’s another extraordinary achievement in songwriting, from the words to the composition, that proves Paul Denis is fast becoming a world-class artist that Canada should be truly proud to call its own.
Learn more about the music of Paul Denis through his official page at Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/pauldenismusic
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