From: kirsten@garfield.cs.mun.ca (Kirsten melissa Starcher)
Subject: Re: In Concert
Organization: CS Dept., Memorial University of Newfoundland
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1992 20:42:25 GMT

In article <9210041754.AA07068@cherry.cis.ohio-state.edu> farrell@news.cis.ohio-state.edu (christopher k farrell) writes:
>	For all of you who like Sarah McLauchlan, I'm afraid I can't agree.
>I went out and bought Solace after she received some good reviews here.  I 
>really liked the last artist we talked about, Loreena McKinnet; unfortunately 
>Sarah just doesn't seem to have it.  A little sticker on the cover of the 
>album said somthing about being an impressive display of emotion; I remained 
>more or less completely unmoved throughout the entire album.  She doesn't use 

Really?  Even on "Mercy"?  That's the sort of song you listen to while flaked 
out on a bed, with your eyes shut, and just let it sweep over you.
I don't find it *emotional* as such, but more emotion-generating. 

>to expect from Enya and Loreena McKinnet, the lyrics are superficial and not 
>particularly meaningful (IMHO ... I'm sure I will draw a lot of opposition on 
>that point),

Damn straight you will.  If you'd been talking about _Touch_, I might have 
agreed with you; her lyrics there are much more "pretty-picture" than 
thoughtful.  
_Solace_'s lyrics are by no means profound, but I certainly don't agree that
they're superficial!  I do think "Shelter" is a bit shallow ("It hurts so much
to see them helpless/it makes me want to cry" is kind of bland) but "Drawn To
The Rhythm"? 

	We fell asleep and began to dream when something broke the night
	Memories stirred inside of us, the struggle and the fight
	And we could feel the heat of a thousand voices
	telling us which way to go
	And we cried out is there no escape from the words that plague me so

Especially combined with the vocals, and the rising on "... is there no 
escape".  I mean, she ain't Stephen Sondheim, but there's nothing wrong with
that.  I find it very moving.

> and it seems to me that she thinks she's a much better vocalist 
>than she actually is.  Enya is a little shakey on Marble Halls (just a little),

Tell me, how good a vocalist does she think she is?  Have you asked her?

>just a little out of tune.  (I should say here that I am very sensitive to that
>sort of thing, for whatever reason, so you may not notice; some of the passages
>are pretty blatant, though).  Finally, I loose a LOT of respect for artists 

I have a good sense of tuning, and I don't find it that obvious.  Sometimes when
she switches octaves there's a bit of a swoop in her voice; is that what you're
saying is out of tune?  I don't find it detracts from the music.

>whose tracks consitantly end in "repeat and fade".  Fade-outs are unsatisfying
>(what? No cadence?) and betray somthing of a lack of skill on the artist's 
>part.  Why couldn't you write an ending?  Sure, it's difficult, but if you're 

I will agree with you there; I don't like the way many of her tracks end.  But
give her a chance.  Before _Touch_, she'd never written a song.  It's not like
she was writing concertos at the age of 3.  Give her time.  
But oddly enough, it's not the repeat-and-fades I mind, but the sudden ones
that are vaguely discordant ("I Will Not Forget You" is such a gorgeous song,
but ends kind of abruptly).  If you base your respect for artists on whether
or not they use repeat-and-fades a lot, you certainly rule out a lot of super
artists...

>going to be a music writer ...  Anyway, I'm afraid I can't really recommend 
>her music.  Again, I listen almost exclusively to classical music; Enya and

>	Ah well, I'll stop now.  Please no flames...  just my opinion.

I'm trying REALLY hard not to flame you.  Does it show?  ...Sarah is one of my
musical gods.  You haven't seen her in concert, but she's fantastic live.  
She brings such atmosphere and just plain enjoyment into her shows; makes it 
fun.

I can see how if you listen exclusively to classical music you might not like
her, though.  She's much closer to pop/rock/etc. music than she is to 
classical, even though she did have classical training in voice, piano, and
guitar.  (I like a lot of classical, too; it's what I was brought up on.)  My
parents didn't like Sarah much either, and they're used to classical too.

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Kirsten Starcher				Your breath is steaming up
kirsten@morgan.ucs.mun.ca			my contact lenses.
kirsten@garfield.cs.mun.ca

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