Occasionally, I hear a recording artist that pulls me into their heart. One artist, Becky Warren did that with her new release, War Surplus. With much depth and emotion, Becky uncovers the realities of our military veterans. She also reveals within War Surplus, the hurt, pain, and loneliness of the veteran’s spouse. Her album speaks volumes to both the veteran and the spouse, exposing the nightmares that both endure with the collateral damage in the “second war.” I would rename this new release, Self-Induced Fragging on the Home-Front.
War Surplus opens with “Call Me Sometime.” Becky conveys compassion and empathy as her character talks the veteran’s walk. I like her second track as well with the three-quarter time “San Antonio.” Becky keeps emphasizing “I’m finally home” throughout the track, maybe stressing on the veteran’s belief system, “I’m finally finished within.”
Another track, “I Miss You,” resonates. Her character is shown in Becky’s video missing the soldier she loves as she walks the streets of Nashville. The question is, is her man on deployment or is he home as she misses the man who he once was? That brings me to “Take Me Back Home”, “Home” being the war in a far-off land. The soldier can fight this battle with a better chance winning. Becky’s last number, “Anything That Lasts,” hit me solid. I love the line, “I went away and came back gone,” as the song hints at suicide.
There are twelve tracks in Becky Warren’s War Surplus. All reach deep down showing the plight of the veteran. Becky demonstrates a close knowledge in the frustrations of the spouse and family as they try to understand and reach inside the veteran’s turmoil. This new release is spot-on as Becky acknowledges her own unrest as she went through a marriage with a veteran dealing with P.T.S.D. War Surplus is an unusual album, but these are unusual times as Americans try to grasp the issues that our returning veterans face. I’m USAF veteran J.R. Miller with High Note Reviews, and this is Becky Warren’s War Surplus.