Julia Fordham's CONCRETE LOVE on SA-CD (1 Viewer)

[Rachael B]

I really like this album. It's hard to slap a label on her musically. The songs vary from R & B sounding to pop to rock. She wrote or co-wrote all the songs. Her voice is a bit lowish, maybe along the lines of Annie Lennox's...? Based on this album she seems like a very above average songwriter. There's more than a few catchy tunes. She has an intresting cast of musicans to suppourt her too. Billy Preston on keyboards. I like the whiney, retro sounding B-3 organ he plays on many of the songs. Veterns Dean Parks and Larry Klein add electric guitars and some other instruments. She occasionally adds acoustic quitar.

If you're looking for an alternative to stuff like, say, Norah Jones. Maybe this could be it? This album veers into easy rock unlike Jones' sound that straddles country and jazz. Myself, I'm not particularly impressed with Norah's songwriting. Fordham's writing is the album's strength IMO. There are two unlisted bonus songs also, tracks #12 and 13, FUNNY GUY and SILVER, respectively. They're better than throw-in's. They're both quite worthwhile. What's up with easter eggs and mystery bonus tracks these days...? For me, just tell me what you got!

There are a bunch of really infectious tunes here, me thinks. Dean Park's fuzzy guitar lays the foundation for IT'S ANOTHER YOU DAY, a song about the joy of love. Hit quality IMO. However she resides on Vanguard Records. They don't get hits do they? They aren't on the payola track are they?

In WAKE UP WITH YOU (THE I WANNA SONG) she sings the words all 15 year old boys wish to hear," I wanna get lucky, I wanna get laid, I wanna lay down in the bed that we made together, 'an I wanna get down with it, wanna get high, wanna stop life from just passing me by, I wanna fly like a bird, I wanna sing and be heard, I want a room with a view, I want to wake up with you...". This is all done with a synthesizer as a base with a funky R & B style guitar and Preston's organ whirring here and there.

CONCRETE LOVE, MISSING MAN, BUTTERFLY, FOOLISH THING and SOMETHING RIGHT all sound terrific to me. Fordham doesn't have the purfect singing voice but she makes the most out of what she's got. Her strong compositions lend her weight too. FOOLISH THING is an instant classic in my mind, anyway. It's an awfully good song about losing a lover. Dean Park's crying guitar props the thing up subtly but beautifully.

The SA-CD is a hybrid but there's no M/C track. Don't let that stop you! If you're a M/C junkie there's always 5-channel stereo processing. Good music is more important than channel counts in my book. The album is well recorded and sounds outstanding on my stereo system employing the XA777ES and sounds fairly good on my lesser players too.

The majors are dilly-dallying around with SA-CD and DVD-A but small labels like Vanguard are not. This must be one of their best young artists and they've put her out there. She may be bound for obscurity? But, she's sounds like a star to me. This is an album worth a shot, me thinks. I got it for a reasonable price at the local Busted Buy too....

 

[Rachael B]

Anybody even tempted?????

 

[John Berggren]

This was the first SA-CD I bought, as a gift for my partner. He's only ever listenned to it in the car. I have given it one listen in the SACD player. I thought it was nice, but it's been in his car ever since.

 

[Danny Tse]

I purchased this SACD at my local Best Buy a number of months ago. I listened to it once and never listened to it again. I like what I hear, just that not enough time in the day to sample it again.

I do recommend it though. I like it better than Norah Jones.

 

[Rachael B]

I'm glad somebody else has atleast heard it. I'm really impressed with her songwriting and hope she makes a dent in the world. I'd buy another album by her....

 

[Phil A]

Rachael, I have the CD for a while. It is quite good. Right after I bought it I found out there is an SACD version too.

I have been busy buried in finishing the basement and have not had a chance to listen to that much but Greta Matassa "Live at Tula's" on Jazz Stream records is quite good - a hybrid SACD. I even liked the multi-channel - very alove and very dynamic - bass, piana, drums and vocal - pretty much jazz stds. but done well - if you don't already have it give it a spin.

 

[Pamela]

I bought Concrete Love right after it came out and I really like it. I would characterize her voice as a "smokey" alto. Missing Man is a great melancholy song. Goes well with a case of the blues and a bottle of wine. She also duets with Joe Henry on a song. Haven't decided if I will pick up the SACD.

 

[Rachael B]

Phil, I've always admired music that's "very alove". I may have to try that one...?

Pamela, does she appeal more to women? Maybe? Sum auf dee's guyz seams unimprest.

 

[Pamela]

I dunno. Maybe she's not hot enough for the guyz?

But seriously ... seems like her music should have universal appeal. I would never characterize her as a "chick singer." Have faith that they will catch on!

 

[Rachael B]

I didn't think you's say so Pamela. I don't think that. I just threw it out there. WAKE UP WITH YOU sounds like a song that ought make male hormones stir sum or try. I really like Billy Preston and Dean Parks too. They've been on so many albums I've listened to over the years, not together... I like that little retro sounding organ that Preston does. It's become so uncommon. B-3-ME!

 

[Craig S]

Julia Fordham has been around for quite awhile. I have her first four CDs ("Julia Fordham" - 1988, "Porcelain" - 1989, "Swept" - 1991, & "Falling Forward" - 1995). Rachael, if you don't have these seek them out immediately. Her songwriting talent (which you correctly praised) was there from the get-go.

I can't even remember what caused me to buy her 1st album. I suspect it was featured on the new artist listening station they used to keep at my local late lamented Sound Warehouse (that's how I discovered Sarah McLachlan's first disc as well). I loved it and went on to buy the subsequent releases, but for some reason I lost track of her after "Falling Forward".

Thanks for the heads-up - I'll have to seek out this SACD.

Oh - on the male/female thing - I find her singing to be incredibly sultry & sexy. I can't imagine why any red-blooded male would not want to listen to this voice.

 

[Rachael B]

Thanks for the alert Craig! I will try another album by her. This was the first one I've heard. Sounds like she's a testement to how today's system of popular muzak systematically eliminates the talented artists from the marketplace of pop-u-larity, in favour of pop le plastique.

 

[Craig S]

Rachael, be sure to go with her eponymous debut album first.

It's been a while since I've listened to it - I need to get Ms. Fordham ripped to my MP3 player!!
Amen.

 

[Rachael B]

Craig, I had no luck yesterday getting her debut album locally. She's such a phenom that it's all sold out, all over town. I did order her debut album and her COLLECTION album last night. Several of her albums are out of print. If I really get into her, I may search Half.com for the others?