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  Whatever
else comes out of my fingers as they hunt and peck their way across
my keyboard to write a review of guitarist/singer/songwriter Lisa
Fraser's debut album, keep this firmly in mind - LISA FRASER IS
A MAJOR TALENT. If it is up to talent alone, Lisa should someday
prepare herself to be drowned out by the orchestra for going too
long on her acceptance speech at the Grammys, American Music Awards
and Oscars (for writing the Best Original Song for some schmaltzy
Hollywood tear-jerker). But in reality, talent and a dollar eighty
will only get you a gallon of gas, so it will remain to be seen
whether Lisa's talent will ever be directed into the ears of enough
people to ever actually get that Grammy nod and earn her a place
among the elite music makers of the world, where she clearly belongs
based on her talent alone.
When
I reviewed the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack recently, I complained
of singers whose voices and vocal styles sound like everyone but
themselves. On my first listen to the Midday Songs lead-off track,
"Mr. Builder", I was tempted to feel the same way about
Ms. Fraser, as both the vocal and guitar bounce and weave in an
intricate, frenetic and eccentric style that is magnificent and
powerful, but virtually echoes that of some of Ani Difranco's work.
And as the album progresses, other comparisons come through Lisa's
voice, including Tracy Chapman, Aaron Neville, Jewel, Fiona Apple
and Julia Davis Allen.
But
on the second listen through the album, the comparisons turned more
into influences, and on the third and fourth listens, the influences
fell away as a more distinct voice came through it all. Honing and
letting this voice shine through in both her writing and singing
will go a long way towards getting Lisa a well-deserved guitar-shaped
swimming pool someday (hey, she may not be the excessive rock and
roll type, but every guitarist still dreams of a guitar-shaped pool,
right?).
And
if I were playing "Sim Artist Manager" on Lisa Fraser's
career, this is where I would shift more of the work, to the writing
and singing. I deliberately defined Lisa as a guitarist/singer/songwriter
in that specific order. Above all, she is a fantastic guitarist.
The command she has over the instrument, and the flourishes and
dynamics she adds during the songs, always in service of the material,
is truly astounding. I'm not talking Steve Vai or Michael Hedges
histrionics here, but in terms of acoustic song-styled guitar playing,
I honestly can't think of anyone better. That her voice and her
songwriting doesn't quite measure up to her guitar ability is by
no means a slight to those talents, as it is a high bar to reach,
indeed.
Vocally,
Lisa is often quite wonderful, with a liquid voice that flows smoothly
through your ears and instinctively seeks out your skin's goose
bump makers, but sometimes Lisa as a singer feels a little bit more
like she's "almost there" as opposed to having "arrived".
Now and then, it sounds as though she is pushing a little too hard
to be heard. I don't mean that in terms of volume, but in terms
of feel. The conundrum of many talented solo performers who yearn
to find an audience is that their material and the feel of their
presentation is usually born of the kind of introspection and intense
inward focus that probably keeps a lot of them confined to their
bedrooms, while others slowly and hesitantly stick their heads out
of their turtle shells just long enough to quietly sing a song or
two among the clinking coffee cups at the local Open Mic. I can
tell that Lisa comes from this type of "bashful performer"
mold because the only thing in the Midday Songs CD package that
would count as 'liner notes' is comprised of one sentence - "This
album owes a great big thanks to all the friends who listened, liked
what they heard, and told me to step out." Of course, regardless
of the introspective nature of the music, the desire for it to be
heard and appreciated is still very strong, and so when they finally
do make themselves known to the world, many a solo artist will press
out with a subtle angst that comes across like panhandling for attention.
To be more restrained and confident is to be at peace with one's
material and at one with who you are as an artist, and the attraction
for those within earshot is that much stronger. Lisa certainly has
confidence with her ability and her material, but I think she needs
to relax a bit more into that confidence and let her vocal performance
breathe with the same kind of casual authority that her guitar playing
exudes. But to be fair, I have to remember that this is only her
debut album, and certainly Lisa is already well on her way to the
kind of cool assurance that will invite more listeners to her work.
The
songwriting on Midday Songs is also quite accomplished. Though on
the first listen through, a lot of songs sounded similar to each
other, repeated listens yielded the fruits of the individual hooks
and melodic flavors as being both sophisticated and accessible.
"Overloaded" has a lazy "Under the Boardwalk"
kind of rhythm that folds into a catchy refrain. "City Street
Song" has an elegant and peppy melody and chorus and a nice
"doo doo doo" section that would inspire Crosby, Stills
and Nash to embark on yet another comeback tour. "Lovely Child"
is a spooky bluesy number with a guitar riff that walks gently along
the crossroads all the way down to Rosedale. "Deliverer"
is a sharecropper gospel anthem with a simple two note guitar teeter-totter
part that breaks out into a flurry of notes as each vocal phrase
ends. This is a great example of the taste of Lisa's guitar playing,
as she gets the same appropriate mileage out of two notes as she
does from twenty-two. "Jack Frost" starts with a softly
sad descending riff and plaintive vocal, a la Norah Jones, and then
picks up into a bouncier and wordier number which features an exquisite
minor guitar chord turn at the end of each chorus phrase. Other
highlights include the light and airy "Keep Walkin'",
which picks up nicely in the chorus; "Stepped Out", a
sweet melodic charmer; and "Lean into Heaven", an evocative
drop D tuned anthem.
Some
of the songs, even the best ones, wear out their welcome a bit,
and could have used a verse and/or chorus chopped, and perhaps the
CD as a whole would have made for a better listening experience
if only ten or eleven of the best tracks were included instead of
thirteen. A few of the songs feature the same kind of "Dear
Prudence" descending guitar part. But on the whole, this is
a very original and memorable collection of songs, and gives a wonderful
introduction to Lisa's immense talent. Though the focus of the production
is clearly on Lisa's voice and guitar, as it should be, I would
have liked to hear more arrangement throughout the album. As it
is, the only arranging on the entire album is an egg shaker in "Overloaded"
and barely audible piano and guitar noodling in "Lean into
Heaven". The best solo performers like Ani Difranco and Jewel
may be able to carry themselves alone in live performance, but they
usually have arrangements on their recordings. Lisa Fraser is likely
a real pleasure to hear all by her lonesome in a coffeeshop or bookstore,
but even some very simple arrangements would have made this album
more listenable, and actually augmented her wonderful singing and
guitar playing instead of detracting from them, which may have been
the fear. By the third or fourth listen through Midday Songs, the
songs had endeared themselves quite well to me, but I was hearing
more and more arrangement possibilities, indicating to me that as
a recording those arrangements were missing. But the real telling
thing about why I highly recommend this album is that I've listened
to it four times in the past week. It is very rare for any album
to encourage such a repeated interest and secure an extended place
in my CD changer.
Will Lisa Fraser become a household name, and walk away with Grammy
and Oscar awards? The odds are always against that, but few would
be more deserving. With the right producer, and a little more ripening
of her vocals and songwriting, she just might be on her way. At
the very least, Lisa should clear off her mantle (if she has one)
for an imminent collection of Pearl awards. I'm sure her bashful
bedroom artist integrity doesn't care in the least for that kind
of recognition, and rightfully so, but I'll bet she does secretly
long for that guitar-shaped swimming pool, and if the enormous promise
of her debut album is any indication of her future success, she
might want to clear out a large space on the lawn in her back yard,
and start pricing pool installers.
****
(4 stars out of 5)
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Eric
Endres
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