David Luning - Lessons (2024)

If you're a fan of inward looking folk-rockers with appealing but earthy baritone voices you need to look no further than Lessons, David Luning's new album.

Luning is one of those unfortunate singer-songwriters who was born too late. He missed the genre's heyday of the 1970s through the 80s - that time in pop music history when albums like Lessons actually made the charts. Sometimes, they were even rewarded for their efforts with a top forty hit or two.

On Luning's third long player he ponders his existence, and seems to view himself as a bit of an outlaw. The opening track, "Every Day I Am" conjures up images of The Grateful Dead's "Friend Of The Devil." Luning sings, "I can't let them catch me, I'm a wanted man" and "if they catch me I’ll be fearing for my life. Every day I Am."  The very next track, "Down Below," is where the protagonist believes he'll be spending eternity. He sticks with the same themes later on the title tune, but this time he lets us know that he may have learned a few lessons along the way.

The ten song set isn't all rebellious nonconformity. "You Like The Rain" is one of Luning's unique love songs. "Before I met you I hated the rain. Clouds would be coming and all I could think was there goes the day. There goes the sunlight, here comes the grey, but you came along, my love, and everything changed."  It's a very nice sentiment.

Lessons is a very good singer-songwriter record that varies in tone and tempo to go along with Luning's thoughtful lyrics. "You Like The Rain" is just the star and his acoustic guitar. Most of the other arrangements feature a full band with two electric guitars, and "Out Of My Head" closes the album with some cello, violin, double bass, and synth.
Luning majored in film scoring at the Berklee College of Music, but when friends introduced him to John Prine he chose a different path. It's good to see that there's still a place for fresh, lyric-driven music made for fans of Prine, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Steve Forbert, Tracy Chapman, Joni Mitchell, and a host of other very literate pop-rock songwriters who came to prominence more than a generation ago.

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