 Lauri
Carrigan's freshman album Safety of His Arms boasts a collection of
eleven original tunes with primarily a pop ballad sound. After hearing
the CD, you wouldn't guess that this was Carrigan's first leap into
the recording business, considering the quality of the music.
There
were a few things that were a little bit of a turnoff at first listen.
First, the pre-programmed beat tracks gave the music as a whole
more of an artificial sound in some of the songs. This isn't to
say that the CD doesn't sound professional. In fact, it's quite
the opposite. The sound quality is equal to anything a big time
record label would put out. There were a few weaker points of the
CD where some of the songs started to sound like each other and
they lost my interest at times.
The
first track, "Now Is The Time" is an energetic beginning
with the feel of Jewel or Sheryl Crow. This is proof that Mormon
moms can rock! The second song, "Safety of His Arms" is
performed in a scaled down version primarily with a piano and soft
backing from other instruments. This song is also the closing track,
performed as a "pop remix". I could be wrong, but it sounds
like the same exact track with one of those pre-programmed beat
tracks mixed in.
Safety of His Arms really picks up steam at the sixth song, "In
My Heart" which stands above most of the music on the CD. The
song comes at a good point in the album where most of the songs
before and after it are more mellow and settled. Another strong
area is the track "Just A Little Bit" featuring Thurl
"Big T" Bailey. Being a fan of Big T's ball playing, he'll
get my nod on anything. It almost sounds like Barry White is taking
a cameo on this song.
It's
just my two cents, but I'd say the best part of the CD is Carrigan's
voice which is polished and solid. She clearly has a knack for singing,
not to mention songwriting and arranging. I enjoyed this album,
and look forward to hearing more from this up and coming artist.
3 stars
out of 5
------------------------
Cory
Reese
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