David Deal - Help Me Fly

Hear The Track Here

One of the main problems with reviewing the way that I do is that I spend days with the track before I ever sit down and write a word. Why is that a problem? Well because I rely on the websites themselves to give us a little more indepth look at the artist and maybe discern other things about the track under review. Of course, that means that the website is up and running and - in this case - it isn't while I type out this review. It doesn't just happen with the smaller sites (like POP in this case) but it happens just as often on the major OMDs. Good job, I have my trusty review system because through it its obvious we came across this artist with I Don't Know What (December 2007), First Contact (February 2008) and Where Are You Now? - A Rockorian Chant (August 2008).

Over that time, it has to be said, that David has created a bit of a mixed impression. Wasn't particularly blown away by a couple of tracks but certainly the Rockorian Chant worked very well indeed. Help Me Fly is a ballad, and regular readers will understand my customary shudder. My main problem with ballads isn't that they are slow (which they generally are; haven't heard many lullabies at 180bpm) as you would expect but usually because they are let down by what can only be called design flaws. The only ballads that really work for me are the ones that are intense, emotional and with a lyric that says something other than bland sugary confections that just give me a headache.

In my world, the best ballads come about because of life and its trials, not the moaning about it.

I have to say that the production, first of all, on this track is absolutely outstanding. Everything sounds just right and the mix fits the musical style perfectly. Where this track scores above most ballads is that it manages to tell a believeable story with warmth and love. Essentially a song about a fathers love for his daughter, Help Me Fly never veers into the cringemaking partly due to the excellent lyrics but also partly because of the voice singing those lyrics. Again, no idea who is singing on this because it certainly isn't David unless he's suddenly become Davida. The female vocal is the final touch that makes this track not just work but - dare I say it - fly.

Excellent Ballad. Yes I said that. Highly Recommended.