![]() There's so much drama on this disc that when Hart sings, "The sky is falling/The angels are calling," it just sounds like another perfect day in L.A.īoth appearing Thursday at the 9:30 club. When in doubt, though, Hart retreats to acoustic guitar- and piano-based epic ballads and her own gospel-rooted coloratura. ![]() Hart may bray like Janis Joplin, but she and her band - which includes bassist, programmer and co-producer Tal Herzberg - try to keep up-to-date with bouncy synth-based shuffles ("Girls Say") and sing-songy Alanis-like stompers ("Delicious Surprise"). "Just do your thing," McCain advises in one of the album's livelier songs, but anyone who really believed that dictum would have never hired Diane Warren.Ĭry me a river? Beth Hart can howl you a hurricane, which is roughly what she does on the opening and closing tracks of her aptly titled second album, "Screaming for My Supper." In between, though, the Southern California singer-pianist demonstrates that she has a few other attributes besides gale-force wind. While such lyrics purport to be personal epiphanies, the album's style is straight off the shelf at the sensitive-singer-songwriter warehouse store. One of these tunes is supposedly derived from a prayer found in a World War II hospital, and another spies "the lonely souls" in New Orleans' Jackson Square. "These are the moments I thank God that I'm alive," he sings, a typically candy-coated Warren sentiment that neatly defangs the irony of McCain's own "Beautiful Life."ĭespite the latter song's designs on satire, most of McCain's material is doggedly earnest and wrapped in American-grown corn, from hammered dulcimer to lite-jazz sax and pillowy strings. Nevertheless, the best moments from all three records constitute a body of work that stands up strongly to his peers, and the best moments from Messenger illustrate that McCain is getting better each time.South Carolina-bred troubadour Edwin McCain comes on like a new sort of good ol' boy, but those aren't Appalachian standards he's singing on his third album, "Messenger." He wrote 11 of these tunes himself, but decided to leave nothing to chance: The disc's first single, "I Could Not Ask For More," was penned by Diane Warren, America's foremost power-ballad ghostwriter. That's no great sin, especially since most artists following this brand of trad rock have the same problem, but it is a little frustrating, since production becomes the only way to separate the records. These subtle differences are enough to make Messenger his most consistent album to date, at least sonically, but these are primarily cosmetic changes beneath the surface, it's pretty much the same album as before, with an equal balance of winners and fillers (most notably an acoustic version of the previous album's hit, "I'll Be," tacked onto the end). He was that way from the first, and his third effort, Messenger, is no different apart from the subtle differences - stylish, radio-ready production from Matt Serletic (a veteran of Matchbox 20 and Collective Soul) and stronger overall songcraft from McCain. Whereas Hootie broke down the commercial doors for this breed of heartland rock, McCain simply follows the path, winding up where Hootie was after Cracked Rear View - namely, with a solid collection of no-frills rock, one that pleases without being particularly memorable, outside of a handful of singles. He is perfectly content with writing folk-tinged ballads and mildly anthemic, midtempo rockers, much like his labelmates and fellow South Carolinians Hootie & the Blowfish. Recording information: Cello Studios, Los Angeles, CA Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA Southern Tracks, Atlanta, GA Tree Sound Studios, Atlanta, GA.Įdwin McCain is not flashy, nor does he wish to be. Recorded at Tree Sound Studios & Southern Tracks, Atlanta, Georgia and The Record Plant, Los Angeles, California. ![]() ![]() Personnel: Edwin McCain (vocals, guitar) Larry Chaney (electric & lap steel guitars, cuatro) Scott Douglas (hammered dulcimer) Craig Shields (saxophone, keyboards) Scott Bannevich (bass) Dave Harrison (drums, percussion) William Chester, Jacquelyn Reddick, Yvette Preyer, Jackie Johnson (background vocals). MESSENGER is an Enhanced audio CD which contains regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. ![]()
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