Lance Robison – Codependance Beach

This CD is the culmination of a more than four decade’s long journey by a truly independent artist. Veteran California singer/songwriter Lance Robison’s collection of original songs titled Codependance Beach is infused with a solid American folk pedigree, and one that has been allowed to evolve comfortably over a long period of time. This artist has been playing his guitar and singing his songs, patiently developing a backlog of originals, while gigging regularly on California’s Central Coast since the 1970’s. He has never produced a major recorded work until now. At 56 years of age its obvious Lance Robison was more than ready. Robison’s vintage easy going folk is seamlessly seasoned with classic pop-rock, trop-rock and western styles that take the listener into a realm that seems familiar but never predictable. Robison’s god given gift is his instantly identifiable voice, which resonates like a James Taylor, Boz Scaggs, Jimmy Buffet cocktail with an occasional dash of Dylan, Lennon and even Mike Love thrown in when needed. The melodies, stories and images brought to life in his songs truly captured me, got way under my skin and ultimately taught me something meaningful about the human condition.

The journey through Robison’s musical world can be melancholy, ironic, joyful, romantic, silly and also very sad, but through those diverse emotions his message always remains human and natural. Robison was blessed to have a fantastic support system on this project, much of it with a direct Beach Boys connection. The collection was recorded and co-produced by Mark Linett at Your Place or Mine studio, and features musical contributions from Andy Paley, Alan Boyd, Probyn Gregory and Jon Stebbins, and reflects the synergy of a fantastic core band led by former Cars guitarist Elliot Easton and keyboard wizard Tom Canning. But none of that would be relevant without the true magic of Robison’s songs. From the simple pop of “Shore Girl’ to the aching western “100 Years Too Soon”, the harmonically lush Beach Boys-esque “Warm Winds” and the spine-tingling bittersweet “I Don’t Belong Here”, the genres are distinct, but they somehow flow and fit together like old friends. There is the ocean-going nightmare “Bad Sea Dreams”, the comically calypso “Dig Dog Day”, the Buffet-style “Vacation Fix” and a Beatles trippy “Time Runs Out Of Time” all painting a portrait of the myriad of life experiences by a genuine California troubadour. Lance Robison maybe the one of the last great undiscovered artists of his kind and Codependance Beach is his ultimate statement…for now.