Review of Rob Teehan's debut solo album 'Come Home'

Composer and conservatory trained tuba player Rob Teehan’s debut solo album titled, Come Home, which was released on June 10 courtesy of the Ontario Arts Council, brings forth the ardor of 19th and 20th century classical compositions. On the album, Teehan plays the piano, melodica, tuba, tin whistle, guitar and percussion. Joining him are Aleksander Gajic on the violin and Adrian Fung cello, Rachel Capon also playing the cello, accordion player Ronen Segel, Paul Teehan playing the handpan, clarinetist John David Williams, Dave Clark on the snare drum and vocalists Tamar Ilana, Stephanie Conn, Claudia Lemcke and Sophia Vassiliadis.

The album’s opening track, “The Wolf,” begins with soft, flowing piano play from Rob Teehan then Gajic’s fervent violin work enters the melody giving the track a more passionate tone. Listeners might envision hearing this song in a movie where the lead character has just lost the love of their life, but then they decide to pick up the pieces of their broken heart and try to move on.

“Cobblestones,” the album’s fourth track, starts off with zippy melodica play from Rob Teehan and classic violin strumming from Gajic in the intro. Paul Teehan’s smooth handpan work in the background makes this track a very danceable one. According to the album’s liner notes, the song has a “Serbian Folk-inspired beat.” It’s fast-paced, jaunty tempo makes its a song that listeners could picture hearing at a wedding reception as the newlyweds and the guests get their groove on.

The album’s third track, “The South Shore,” has somewhat ominous piano work from Rob Teehan in its intro, but light percussion in the background and livelier clarinet play from Williams introduces a more energetic tempo. Yet, Gajic’s severe violin plucking arrives, which brings back that heavy feeling and then later intensifies even further with Gajic’s stern cello play.

“The Highway,” the album’s fifth track, opens with entertaining accordion play from Segel along with Rob Teehan lightly tickling the ivories as well as percussion in the background. Later in the track, clapping can be heard as Capon’s cello play comes into the melody giving the track a more traditional tone.

The album’s ninth track, “The Busker,” begins with Segel’s fun accordion work and Gajic’s cello playing faintly in the background. Its fierce tone thanks to Gajic’s violin play later in the track, could make listeners could foresee hearing on the next season of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars as a celebrity couple dance a hot-blooded tango to this fiery track.

To sum up, Come Home, the debut solo album from Rob Teehan gives listeners impassioned music as well as danceable tracks as well as songs that will harken listeners back to the romanticism of past centuries in history.