As a renowned studio and touring player, Doug Kistner is proving to be a powerful solo artist who can deliver powerful songs, interesting lyrics, and satisfying melodies. As a veteran keyboardist and vocalist touring with all the greatest names in American rock, Doug Kistner now teams up with Bill Champlin of Chicago fame to bring us “There’s The Door.” This rocking track features some of the best vocal harmonizing heard in popular music in a very long time. The steady countertenor vocals of Doug Kistner are complemented elegantly by the Contralto overtones of Bill Champlin, almost making “There’s The Door” feel like a classic Chicago track with grit. Lyrically, “There’s The Door” strikes a defiant tone as the narrative demonstrates frustration and absolution with the subject, giving a constant reminder that if you don’t like… “There’s the Door.” “You want freedom but you’re afraid to be alone, and you always wanted more. If you think freedom is the thing you really need, turn around there’s the door.” Of course, the harsh nature of the subject matter is not without its artistic flair. As the vocalists deliver their message they do so with metaphor, imagery, and resolution while offering an emotional connection to the subject like love, adoration, and respect are always present throughout. This is a classy and mature approach to these lyrics which could have turned nasty, however, the professionalism of these songwriters prevail and we get a beautiful track with only that hint of absolute resolution.
The production of “There’s The Door” is exactly what you would think it would be given the artists performing it. The melody is delivered by a simple keyboard pattern featuring mostly chord movements with sight tied into the next interval. This is coupled with an electric guitar playing open chords on the downbeat for substance, and a simple snare high-hat combo keeping the time and maintaining this steady
rhythm. Listeners should, however, pay attention to the funky walking bass lines going on the background, this underlying funk couples root notes with plenty of overtones and neighboring scale tones to really drive the funk and get this track its legs. The guitar delivers incidental lead licks to introduce new sections of the track, yet these are used so sparingly we almost do not get the full impact of the amazing licks this
player can produce. “There’s The Door” should be an instant hit in the Rock, Adult Contemporary market as it follows most of the formulas which made songs like this great for decades, yet it also provided a modern twist as the lyrical structures and performances are clean, crisp, and extremely well-performed. As a solo artist, Doug Kistner is proving to everyone he has the makings of an artist brimming with talent and
potential and a clear understanding of how to write a hit song.
–Lee Callaghan
