Tiers/And Other Stories

On the double album Tiers/And Other Stories, Richard X. Heyman brings to bear a lifetime of accumulated musical expertise. Heyman began his journey while still in junior high as a member of obscure '60s garage band The Doughboys before emerging in the 1980s as a fully formed singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, crafting sparkling power pop often recorded at home, one-man-band-style. Some 23 years into his solo career, Heyman has released his masterpiece, eschewing his perkier, more rock-oriented approach for an orchestral-pop direction that makes the most of his multifarious musical skills; Heyman handles everything from Mellotron to marimba here, leaving only the strings and winds to other players. Led frequently by piano, Heyman's melodies move with uncommon elegance and grace, atop gorgeous, artful arrangements; the most obvious reference point is the baroque-leaning ‘60s L.A. art-pop suites of Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks, Harry Nilsson, et al (the coda of "On Gallery Row" is an overt Beach Boys homage). But on this semi-concept album about his long, rich relationship with his wife (and engineer) Nancy, Heyman has created something truly timeless, bound neither to the tyranny of the calendar nor (at a length of two hours-plus) the clock.