This is a review of Maggie Reilly's
album Looking back, moving forward.
I'm afraid, Angel Tears has ceased updating and can not tell much of
this.
Before I got Looking back, moving forward
I read the song list and listened to the samples in CD Baby. Half of the
songs are old and familiar remakes, another half are new songs. The
samples sound, as John (in his CD Baby review) writes,
uneven. So,
my expectations were actually not in the ceiling, but I never really
considered not buying the album. Is it just a bunch of leftover songs
added with old hit remakes, but it's Maggie's voice anyway. Let's see
if there are any pearls in this bag.
It's
a Lovely Day
is a light and airy summer song with a good momentum. Nothing great,
just a laid-back and happy way to
start. Besides, it points out Maggie's singing is as good as always. Be
warned though, if you play it twice it may turn out
some earworm capabilities.
Surprisingly, Everytime We Touch is a real
delight to listen. Maggie sings light and a wee bit groove, Ross Hamilton on
his bass goes funky, Alyn
Cosker
keeps the drums snapping mild but sharp, and perhaps, there is a hint
of reggae
hanging in the air. Very different from the original, another point of
view and refreshing.
Lucy
is a simple song full of comfort. Alan
Thomson's bass hovers around commenting Maggie's vocals.
And the ending is just perfect.
Another warmly welcome
remake is Stones
Throw From Nowhere. A chance to get an idea of the Cado Belle
music otherwise difficult to access. And this time with a better sound
quality. Now Maggie sings in a more matured and controlled way,
however, some temperament may have been lost. And listen to the
perfect string
sound painting its own story at the background, it's not a synth but a
quartet. Actually it sounds greater than just a quartet. Happy to meet Stones Throw again.
Somehow, I find the verse
of Hold me
extremely fascinating. It's just a four or five notes idea turned round
and around again in a very minimalistic way. The chorus does what a
chorus got to do, it seduces you to sing along. After the chorus there
comes a noisy orchestral passage, which is perhaps a
little formless
and not aggressive enough for its purpose. The choir Sirens of Titan
jumps in a bit abruptly to create the grand finale. I think it
would
be better if the choir had expressed its presence earlier like in
Lilith,
where the choir is first heard at 1:24. Anyway, one of the best
songs on this album.
You only need one guitar,
one piano, one Maggie, and some True
Colours to build up a lovely song. This is a bit longer
than the version on Rainy
Day. The sound is softer and perhaps more true
and Hugh Burns' guitar is
almost too polite. The song is gently encouraging and warm, however, suffering some lack of momentum.
Fifth
Moon
runs in three-part rhythm, but do not call it a waltz. A nervous beat
and Maggie's long notes paint this scenery. In the middle Maggie hums
and I was left wondering if there was some Lapland spices involved.
The more I listen Canada,
the more I love this gently meditating song. It's about traveling home
after visit to a friend far away and best chill-out ever. Different from True Colours, it has a slow and steady momentum, like a big river.
Meet Maggie the Terrible
in
Lilith.
This is the big song of the album. Fast running bass ornament, minor
key harmonies, and Maggie singing long notes over storm-darkened
desert. The choir
Sirens
Of Titan joins in fluently to build up the finale and
Hugh Burns throws
in a ferocious solo on his guitar.
Lilith
was Adam's first wife and later she became a storm demon,
baby
killer and deceiver of sleeping people. I guess, Eve has been
badmouthing efficiently, whatever, we got a great song.
And finally, if you need Moonlight
Shadow, Family Man,
and To France on one
album, this is the album.
The
cover picture of Maggie
is perplexing: the mouth and the eyes are very Maggie-like, but the
cheek line near her left eye is beyond my belief. Perhaps
they did it
deliberately: took the mouth and the eyes from a photo, drew the hair
and the cheek line by freehand to build an enigmaticly entrancing
impact.
The
booklet contains all the lyrics, which is just great.
Somehow I feel, many of the new songs have an unique Maggie-touch in
them, similar to the songs on Echoes
and Midnight Sun.
A richness of melodies and variations is present. I'm no more bothered
of the "unevenness" of this album, Maggie can do many different kinds
of
music, isn't it just great. And I like better the Moving Forward
part, please, some more of the new songs, all kinds and all colours.
This review was
written during the summer of
2009. The album was released in January 2009.
At
first I used to hear some distortion around Maggie's voice
every
time. Then, one time, the sound was clean. The only difference was my
computer 2 was up and running, when the sound was clean. I found
similar distortion on
Rainy
Day, however the sound of
Rowan
was perfect under every condition. I don't really understand, how my
computer 2 can boost distortion, when it is down and slumbering, but
this is what happens anyway. Somehow I suspect, this has something to
do with the fact that the album has been recorded with full level,
probably without any -3db margin, while Rowan is obviously recorded
using lower level. Something puts the audio system a bit
off-balance and one edge of the signal is slightly clipped, I
guess. The distortion was never especially bad, however, it
definitely was audible.
Back to Maggie
This page set is about my paintings. Most of
the text is in Finnish language, but ... just enjoy the pictures!
Risto Latva
Start of the Paintings
(in
Finnish)