Track Listing

1. Trickster
2. St. Lawrence River
3. Jesus Was My Girl
4. Unholy, Dirty and Beautiful
5. Forestfire
6. Baby Skin Tattoo
7. F Train
8. Million
9. Final Thoughts and the Last Day on Earth
10. Mood Song

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #225975 in Music
• Released on: 1999-03-23
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Little Song Poses on the White Ladder
This CD is one whose music instantly jumped out & grabbed me at the CD store. After filling up the changer with unfamiliar music, this jewel said, "Take me home!" "Little Songs" is one of the most musically distinctive and inventive CDs I've heard in a long while. Its boldness and emphasis on arrangement compares favorably with Rufus Wainwright's classic CD "Poses" while its bright sense of melody puts it on peer level with David Gray's classic "White Ladder" CD. The light chorus of "Trickster" sounds like a gorgeous pop madrigal with the adult lyrics, "I still hate you motherf**kers everyone, wrapped in glory, bound so tightly." David's soft vocals build on the beautiful "St. Lawrence River." "Jesus Was My Girl" pushes the barriers of the politically correct, but is such a layered conflicted piece that it is intriguing, "The f**kings over but I can't stop coming." "Unholy, Dirty & Beautiful" starts with Claude Lamothe's disconcerting cello solo followed by David singing, "The curious scribblings of one who has everything." "Forestfire" is a great track, one of the few without a four-letter word or blatantly adult reference, "I'm pouring through the universe & slipping through the endless stream of time." "Baby Skin Tatoo" is a stark tune with the clang of guitar, "I am just the gray one in the darker side of you." Vocally, David sounds a bit like Nick Drake on "F Train." "Million" is a soft folk tune, "bound like a child you are mine." Hammond organ startles us to open the lullaby from the darker side, "Final Thoughts & the Last Day On Earth," "All my life, I've seen your babies crashing to the ground." The quasi-instrumental "Mood Song" concludes sounding like Dick Dale's ghost lost in the reverb chamber. "Little Songs" is not a disc for the kids. It's themes are dark and probe the most basic of human needs; but the music is inventive, fresh and imaginative. U snooze U lose! Enjoy!

Moody, magical, and masterful, this is what music is about
I was sad to see David Usher leave Moist to pursue a solo career, Moist being one of the definitive bands of the 90's in Canada (for those who don't know them, Moist was to Canada what Pearl Jam was to the US) I was crying for a different reason after hearing "Little Songs"

This album is what music is about. I know, I said it before, but it bears repeating. David Usher bares his soul with the sort of lyricism and song-craft that raises him to the level of the great singer-song writers of all time. From the soft melody of F-Train to the heart-tearing Unholy, Dirty and Beautiful, this album explores depths of human emotion untouched even by Moist's flagship of angst, "Believe Me". David Usher displays a rare talent for stepping into the listener's heart and setting up permanent residence with unforgettable songs.

"Little Songs" is one of those rare albums I can listen to any time, no matter what my mood. This album isn't just good. It's top-five - what CD would you want on a desert island - recommend it to all your friends - permanent place in the CD changer good. I can listen to it falling asleep and waking up and any time in between, and I swear every time I hear it I love it more.

One of the most beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard
This c.d. is a masterpiece that intertwines deep thought with beautiful sounds and instrumental work. I have never heard a voice as mesmerizing as David's.