Music Review: Marc Broussard – ‘A Life Worth Living’

Marc Broussard is a marvelous singer/songwriter. He wrote or co-wrote all but one song on his new CD A Life Worth Living, and all are strong songs with great emotional impact.

Broussard combines blues, soul, R&B, and pop to create fresh and original sounds. On this CD, “Hurricane Heart” is perhaps the strongest. It deals with a broken relationship, which could be with a friend, a family member, or a lover, and it uses acoustic and electric guitars and great pedal steel to create a blues-pop masterpiece. The chorus uses classic song titles in a way that is clever but not kitschy.

“Another Day” and “Honesty” also deal with troubled relationships  in straight-forward, almost blunt lyrics. “Another Day” is a searing duet with Company of Thieves singer Genevieve Schatz. “Honesty” lays bare emotional conflict with lovers who deal with things in very different ways, and is enhanced greatly by the slide guitar and petal steel.

“Dyin’ Man” is something altogether different – a growling rocker with swirling B3 and blazing blues guitar. “Perfect to Me” is a sweet and yes, perfect, pop ballad, while “Man Ain’t Supposed to Cry” is pure southern soul, and “Give ‘Em Hell” is gospel blues with a energizing and inspirational message.

While these songs are slightly more immediately impressive, the rest are equally as good and are the sort of songs that just improve the more you hear them. “Shine” is a sweet and tender ballad made even more touching by Broussard’s rough-edged voice. “Edge of Heaven” is another soulful number, while “Weight of the World” is a very catchy R&B song. “Shine” is heartfelt and touching. “I’ll Never Know” is a ballad with piano accompaniment that is so emotionally fueled that it is fast becoming my favorite track.

The title track, “A Life Worth Living,” is Broussard’s love song to his family, and it is a beautiful example of the open sharing that makes this CD so special.

If you like singer/songwriters who really use their music to communicate with the listener and do it in an entertaining way, then this CD is for you. And if you have friends who also like honest, open, emotional soul, blues and R&B, then buy a couple of CDs for them, too!

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