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This lady can sing, sing, sing and then sing some more. Plus she plays several instruments on this album like very few have the talent to do. Marion Walsh is as fresh as a new box of Tide. Her new CD is just packed with great music. The production on the CD is excellent and the words to her music will take the listener on a ride of the lifetime. Marion sings with so much conviction she should be convicted for affecting the hearts of all whom listen to this new music. A sparkling release from the great country of Canada.
Listed as "Americana/Roots", which usually means somethin' like Lester Flatt/Earl Scruggs, Marion's vocals definitely remind me of bluegrass influenced tunes I used to listen to (over a jug of corn likker) down Kentucky way. That's not necessarily a "bad" thing, at least when the music is performed with the passion Ms. Walsh displays... she has a unique style, & makes it very difficult to pigeonhole her music - which is a good thing! Those (like me) who are used to music that pretty much categorizes itself from the first 8 bars will find a great amount of joy in the songs Marion crafts, & will know (from those first few bars) that she is a truly independent spirit with a real gift for singing & playing about life & the living! I really like this album.... I rate it a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for sensitive/aware listeners of all genre persuasions.
"American roots-rock finds itself a new obsession in Marion Walsh. Vocally the woman is insanely gifted and when you add to that the talents she possesses on harmonica, guitar, and mandolin, you've got one musical soul that heaven let escape for a little while so we could all enjoy her blessings. Lyrically it's not overtly complicated but does it really need to be? Ranging from new country jangles to bouncy folk tunes to Americana's greatest Midwest sounds one would think this came from a Southerner rather than a lady whose closest home to the Mason-Dixon line was Baltimore. Soulful and honest this is an album that plays well in a variety of settings."
On "Home to Home" Marion Walsh presents some great folk, Americana, country and roots sounds. I liked the variety in themes, moods, and vocal styles as well as the music... ...clearly Walsh is a multi-talented artist...very nice listening..."
Good ol’ girl with a gypsy soul comes in with a homegrown Americana flavored date powered by zesty songwriting that comes right from the heart... Walsh is on to something here and you can feel safe finding out what that is.
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JAM Music Magazine, March 1, 2003,
Marion Walsh It is hard to know quite how to describe the first solo album from Boston's Marion Walsh, Song Garden. I guess the first thing to say is, "Wow what a voice!" Walsh's voice and clear singing style reminds me of Joan Baez or Judy Collins. It is hard not to be enchanted by Walsh's stunning power and sweetness. She could sing the phone book and I could be enthralled. Her album is a set of beautiful songs that sound like classic folk songs. In reality, they are all originals except for a very short a cappella version of Paul Simon's "Bookends." They are simple songs with titles like "Honesty" and "I Believe." The lyrics can be very simple too. "I Believe" takes the award for simplicity. "I believe we are all free," is the only lyric, but when Walsh caresses and massages it, it touches you deep inside. Many of her songs remind me of religious chants. She repeats short lines over and over with her wonderful voice and they become as much music as words. In some ways they can touch a person more than a great guitar lick or a sax run because they are words we understand and put an added meaning onto. Lines like "Today I am" that both stand alone and begin a series of repeated phrases, have multiple meanings that are altered by her phrasing and the lyrics that are next to them. The ultimate example of this is "On My Lips." This song begins in an almost classical style. The song's simple lyrics revolve around several simple phrases, the most important one being, "Kissing you is to have god on my lips." In the third and fourth verse she almost reverses the phrase, "Lips my on god like is you kissing kiss." Although it makes no obvious sense, when Walsh offers it over and over with her beautiful voice, it feels perfectly clear. She can also sing a lovely understated ballad like "Over" and have everything be crystal clear and straight forward like the best of classic folk songs that we have heard for years and years. Balancing the simple pleasures of these down-to-earth, old fashioned songs and the more ethereal bliss of her revelatory hymn-like tunes may become a challenge on later albums. Right now she has found an almost perfect mix. The only thing wrong with this album is that it is only 30 minutes long. Rating: 10.5 out of 11 |
