“Metaphor” is, in essence, a love letter to God. It is a pronouncement of Budin’s faith in Judaism and a vehicle by which others can similarly draw inspiration through his songs. ... An engaging singer with a soulful exuberance, Budin’s lyrics are joyful and insightful, but never trite. There may be few Hebrew words in number, but there is no doubt that the form and substance of his music is from a Jewish perspective... (read the rest of the review here):
http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/ articles/2007/03/08/features/arts/darts0309.txt
There's a natural-as-breathing quality to these elegant folk-based tunes whose lyrics embrace a distinctly Jewish spirituality and sense of social justice. These tunes should be popular at Jewish camps; one can hear a busload of campers singing the exuberant "Carry that Rock." The gentle, joyful "Blessing," with its cycle-of-life theme, is an obvious wedding song. Budin's voice frequently recalls the gruff fluency of Gordon Lightfoot on tunes like the pensive "Edge of the Ocean," which he describes in liner notes as a "social justice call to action song" with lyrics like "We've marched the streets of Selma, Alabama/have we walked those many miles just to stop?" The theme re-appears on "Every Step a Prayer" which draws parallels between Jewish and African-American journeys to freedom, and by extension, all such journeys. The well-paced disc's 12 tracks balance sparse, quiet tracks like "Fire" with uptempo tunes like the celebratory "Huruach" and the triumphant "Let It Burn."
— Anastasia Pantsios, Cleveland Free Times
Budin is a singer-songwriter of deep faith and conviction. He’s also a solid musician with a gift for marrying words to music. This collection of songs has an easy folk/country sway to it, bringing to mind a sort of Steve Earle of Jewish mysticism. He’s surrounded himself with some of Northeast Ohio’s finest musicians, including members of the Prayer Warriors, Harmonia’s Walt Mahovlich, and go-to-guy for hot sax licks Norm Tischler. The production value is crisp and clean, keeping Budin’s strong yet sensitive vocals in the foreground. Touches of cello and piano color the ballads, screaming electric guitar the more driving songs.
Religious faith and social justice are the things that matter to Budin and he writes poetically about both, presenting them as sides of the same coin. On the heart-breaking “The Silent Son,” he sings poignantly of a man dying of AIDS. The simple guitar accompaniment is subtly enhanced by Mahovlich’s accordion. (Perhaps a little too subtly – the soft chords are nearly buried in the mix.) He takes on a subject as weighty as the creation (“Fire”) and renders it in an emotive ballad with some painterly wordplay.
The evocative opening line “And grappling with the poetry of a sunset” tugs the listener right into the story. Contrast this with the rattly rockabilly of “Carry That Rock.” The story of Moses gets a clattery one-take treatment with banjo, mandolin, piano, and drums. Though it happened decades ago, Budin references the march on Selma not once, but twice (“Edge of the Ocean” and “Every Step a Prayer”), driving home the event’s continued relevance. Metaphor has a historical sweep that takes us from the dawn of humankind to the plagues of the present day. Budin manages to give the even most mystical subject matter a very human immediacy, and does it with a warm musicality.
- Peggy Latkovich, CoolCleveland.com
"...Metaphor is just a beautiful collection of brilliant songs. Silent Son made me cry. The truth is, every song was so well written. The whole vibe of this project is so right. I learned so much and FELT so much just listening. You write so well, and your melodies are lovely. Your band is awesome, too. They sound great. And the one piece that is recorded live sounds AMAZING. Not to take a thing away from the sound of your CD, you are meant to be heard LIVE. I was so inspired by the arrangements, your playing, your writing, and your beautiful voice. I can't say enough good things about this CD..."
- Julie Silver, singer/songwriter/recording artist, Los Angeles, CA
"When I want to feel really good about life, I listen to your album."
Paul Floriano, Actor/Director/Producer, Cleveland/Pittburgh/New York City
"There are a lot of people who write great music... there are very few who touch your heart. Noah Budin does both with class, sensitivity and spirit."
-Craig Taubman, Singer/songwriter, Los Angeles CA
Noah Budin graduated from Kent State University with a B.A. in Theater and was one of the members of the Chicago based a capella music and comedy group “Four Guys Standing Around Singing.” He is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, recording artist, actor, storyteller, and educator with his hands in a diverse variety of projects.
For over 500 performances in 2001 - 02, Noah played the roles of Sal Antonucci and Vinnie Black in Cleveland’s longest running hit show Tony ‘n’ Tina’s Wedding at the Hanna Theater in Playhouse Square. Noah also played the roles of Lazar Wolf in Cain Park’s highly acclaimed production of Fiddler on the Roof, and Stanley Berent in The End of the World by Arthur Kopit at the Absolute Theater Company in Chicago, IL, in this play’s first production outside of New York.
For Eight Years Noah was an artist with Young Audiences of Greater Cleveland, performing assemblies, designing workshops and serving as artist in residence for schools across North Eastern Ohio. Currently, Noah is the Assistant Director of Activities at Stone Gardens Assisted Living Residence at Menorah Park.
Noah’s nonprofit organization ARC, Inc. (The Arts Recreating Communities) brings artists together from diverse neighborhoods, ethnicities and backgrounds. Noah performs his original music around the country and has released two CDs of original music, Hallelujah Land: Songs of Faith and Freedom (1998) and Metaphor (2006). Visit www.noahbudin.com.
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