Description
Paula Cole Band – Amen / Warner Bros. Records Audio CD 1999 / 9362474902
UPC 093624749028
Product Details:
Tracklist:
| 1 | I Believe In Love |
5:49 |
| 2 | Amen | 5:59 |
| 3 | La Tonya | 6:13 |
| 4 | Pearl | 6:06 |
| 5 | Be Somebody | 5:15 |
| 6 | Rhythm Of Life | 7:51 |
| 7 | Free | 3:55 |
| 8 | Suwannee Jo | 5:24 |
| 9 |
God Is Watching | 4:47 |
Review:
Paula Cole's third release is a lesson in sticking to what you know. A trained jazz vocalist, Cole uses this studied vocal styling with great affect. Never overusing her vibrato, she breathes a unique and emotional character into each song with a well-placed whisper, unexpectedly powerful crescendo, or a desperate, aching wail. One moment she portrays a freestyling beat-poet rapper ("Rhythm of Life"), the next a tragically downtrodden blues mamma ("La Tonya"). She also knows how to produce a song. On "Free," sitar uncoils behind a scrim of dark ethereal notions. The title track has bright acoustic-guitar melodies dancing on shimmering synths that resonate like the rim of a crystal water glass caressed by a wet fingertip. Throughout, she builds a foundation of sprawling, blooming musicality adapted from her preceptor Peter Gabriel. But lyrically, Cole slips into her bad habit of harping on the obvious. On "Amen" a DJ's scratch flips a switch in the middle of the song where Cole begins spouting a list of notorious characters in need of repentance, citing Saddam Hussein, Jack Kevorkian, O.J. Simpson, and all Reagan-era republicans. Exhibiting a Jewel-esque naiveté on "Be Somebody," she advises, "In the face of totality, show the other cheek." The lyrics are trite, but after a few listens, they're a minor distraction from the mighty-fine body of music contained in this release. Amen to that. --Beth Massa
More Details:
- Arranged By – Jamshied Sharifi (tracks: 1, 6, 7, 9), Paula Cole (tracks: 6)
- Backing Vocals – Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins* (tracks: 5)
- Bass – Tony Levin (tracks: 1, 4 to 6, 8, 9)
- Bongos – Alfredo Hidrovo (tracks: 1)
- Chapman Stick – Tony Levin (tracks: 9)
- Conductor – Jamshied Sharifi (tracks: 1, 7, 9)
- Drums – Jay Bellerose
- Electric Upright Bass – Tony Levin (tracks: 3)
- Electronic Wind Instrument – Jamshied Sharifi (tracks: 7)
- Engineer – Roger Moutenot
- Engineer [Moutenot Assistant] – Ryan Smith (2)
- Guitar – Kevin Barry
- Mixed By – Roger Moutenot, Ryan Smith (2)
- Mixed By [Mix Assistant] – Brian Garten
- Piano – Paula Cole
- Producer – Paula Cole
- Scratches – DJ Premier
- Shaker – Alfredo Hidrovo (tracks: 1)
- Steel Guitar – Greg Leisz (tracks: 4)
- Vocals – Paula Cole
- Written-By – Paula Cole
