Songs fall short of talent

December 13, 1996

Songs fall short of talent

By BEN RAYNER

Ottawa Sun

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AMANDA Marshall, we have to talk.

You've got a good thing going with that voice of yours, no doubt about it.

It's as big as your hair, a real sandblaster -- strong enough to strip paint and level city walls. And certainly powerful enough to send the balding guy in the Bear T-shirt next to me into paroxysms of glee ("What a voice!" he kept shrieking) during your show at Barrymore's Wednesday night.

In fact, if we're to gauge your performance from his reaction, it was a resounding success. You certainly sent your fans home happy, ripping through the entire album and a couple of covers -- ballads by Neil Young and Jimi Hendrix -- with the same full-throated, crowd-pleasing gusto. No doubt the folks taking in your next show on Monday will be equally pleased.

You're a fine performer and a charming stage presence, Amanda. A full year on the road has turned you and your five-piece backing band into a tightly professional rock machine, and you guys all seem to be having fun up there.

But, listen. We've got to do something about those songs.

I know you didn't write most of them, so the blame for their calculated unoriginality doesn't lie entirely at your feet. But you and the boys in the band are young enough to know better than to churn out these snoozers on a nightly basis.

Sure, they exhibit a few more sparks live than they do on record -- mainly because of your larger-than-life delivery -- but there's something better lurking in there, Amanda. Something rawer, more suited to your whiskey-and-cigarettes voice than safe, adult-contemporary radio hits.

We got a taste of it when you and the band loosened up for extended vocal and instrumental jams on the fun Romantics knock-off Sitting On Top Of The World -- one of your compositions -- and the pulsing single Birmingham.

As for the rest of the show -- well, we've already got enough Melissa Etheridges, Joan Osbournes and Sheryl Crows belting out world-weary "rock" anthems for people who still think Sting is cutting-edge.

Oh, and how about easing up on the hammer-to-the-floor vocalizing once in a while? Used sparingly, it's effective. Used constantly, it's simply numbing by the end of the evening and drags all the subtlety out of gentler numbers, like Hendrix's Castles Made Of Sand.

You might want to check out your opening act, Chantal Kreviazuk, whose memorable, if slightly hurried, set was her first ever in a large venue.

With just her piano and her voice, the 22-year-old Kreviazuk breathed eloquent new life into intensely personal songs that often got lost amid the full-band arrangements found on her debut record, Under These Rocks And Stones.


	December 13, 1996 Songs fall short of talent By BEN RAYNER Ottawa Sun ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AMANDA Marshall, we have to talk. You've got a good thing going with that voice of yours, no doubt about it. It's as big as your hair, a real sandblaster -- strong enough to strip paint and level city walls. And certainly powerful enough to send the balding guy in the Bear T-shirt next to me into paroxysms of glee ("What a voice!" he kept shrieking) during your show at Barrymore's Wednesday night. In fact, if we're to gauge your performance from his reaction, it was a resounding success. You certainly sent your fans home happy, ripping through the entire album and a couple of covers -- ballads by Neil Young and Jimi Hendrix -- with the same full-throated, crowd-pleasing gusto. No doubt the folks taking in your next show on Monday will be equally pleased. You're a fine performer and a charming stage presence, Amanda. A full year on the road has turned you and your five-piece backing band into a tightly professional rock machine, and you guys all seem to be having fun up there. But, listen. We've got to do something about those songs. I know you didn't write most of them, so the blame for their calculated unoriginality doesn't lie entirely at your feet. But you and the boys in the band are young enough to know better than to churn out these snoozers on a nightly basis. Sure, they exhibit a few more sparks live than they do on record -- mainly because of your larger-than-life delivery -- but there's something better lurking in there, Amanda. Something rawer, more suited to your whiskey-and-cigarettes voice than safe, adult-contemporary radio hits. We got a taste of it when you and the band loosened up for extended vocal and instrumental jams on the fun Romantics knock-off Sitting On Top Of The World -- one of your compositions -- and the pulsing single Birmingham. As for the rest of the show -- well, we've already got enough Melissa Etheridges, Joan Osbournes and Sheryl Crows belting out world-weary "rock" anthems for people who still think Sting is cutting-edge. Oh, and how about easing up on the hammer-to-the-floor vocalizing once in a while? Used sparingly, it's effective. Used constantly, it's simply numbing by the end of the evening and drags all the subtlety out of gentler numbers, like Hendrix's Castles Made Of Sand. You might want to check out your opening act, Chantal Kreviazuk, whose memorable, if slightly hurried, set was her first ever in a large venue. With just her piano and her voice, the 22-year-old Kreviazuk breathed eloquent new life into intensely personal songs that often got lost amid the full-band arrangements found on her debut record, Under These Rocks And Stones.