Rock
There’s no denying the cathartic qualities of music — musicians often find themselves drawn to tell a soul-searched story.
For William Michael Dillon, his debut album not only represents this style of personal reflection, but an emotive recount of the battle between life and truly living.
The songs on are a long time coming, considering he spent 27 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.
But since his exoneration, Dillon has turned the songs he wrote on scraps of toilet paper into a captivating collection that reflects his long journey to freedom and his new life, as well as the strength he’s found because of it.
The album’s title track begins with Dillon reciting, “My name is William Michael Dillon. I was arrested on Aug. 26, 1981, for a crime I didn’t commit. I was released on Nov. 18, 2008. Thank you for the keepers of justice.”
This introduction sets the somber, yet hopeful mood for the rest of the album, in which thoughtful songs unfold like chapters of a personal memoir.
Combining elements of rock ‘n’ roll, country and folk, Dillon has been equated to a mix of Tom Waits’ grit and Johnny Cash’s cowboy. On “Lost in Time,” heavy guitar meshes with honky tonk melodies as Dillon sings with the genuine enthusiasm of a man renewed.
Throughout the rest of the album, his rich, husky vocals pour deeply from song to song, occasionally backed by a soulful choir or upbeat hand clapping. Mid-album, Dillon keeps things varied and upbeat, moving from reggae undertones to playful keys without hesitation.
