The Lesser Of The Melissa Etheridge "Greatest Hits" C.D.s! The One-Disc The Road Less Traveled.

The Good: Good music, Generally good arrangement
The Bad: Missing some great songs, There is a better, 2-disc version
The Basics: The Road Less Traveled is a fine, worthy album, but those who want Etheridge's best ought to get the Deluxe Edition instead!


I have the amazing two-disc CD and DVD version of Melissa Etheridge's greatest hits (reviewed here!). It is one of my favorite Greatest Hits albums and a review I am quite happy with.

Even so, I thought I would review the less good, one-disc version so those who have not heard the works of Melissa Etheridge (I dated someone last year who had never heard of her!) can get almost all of her best works in one place. And while this version does not have the videos that the Deluxe version has, it is adequate . . . but I tend to go for the bells and whistles!

For those who have not heard of Etheridge or her music, she is an established female rocker who has released at least eight albums. She is an engaging political activist. She is a breast cancer survivor and now works to raise awareness for breast cancer. And yes, she is probably in a race for world's most famous blonde lesbian alongside Ellen DeGeneres. A pathetic number of potential fans of Etheridge's works cannot get beyond her lesbianism to realize that she rocks with the best of Them (them, in this case, being the rest of the rockers in the world). Etheridge has created a solid musical body of work over the last decade plus and The Road Less Traveled showcases it.

With seventeen tracks, clocking in at 72:48, The Road Less Traveled showcases well the talents of Melissa Etheridge, both as a singer-songwriter and as an artist who reinterprets the works of others. On this compilation, she wrote or co-wrote fifteen of the tracks and she plays guitar on most of them as well. She also takes a production credit on several of the tracks. Outside the covers of "Refugee" and "Piece Of My Heart," this is very much the unique creation of Melissa Etheridge.

It is a rare thing that an artist can get one to completely reconsider a piece of music when they do a cover of it. Etheridge succeeds, though, from the very first track, which is a cover of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' single "Refugee." Until Etheridge presents it, it does not quite pop, it lacks the depth its lyrics signify. Until one hears Melissa Etheridge sing "Refugee," the obvious is unclear; this is a song that gets vastly more mileage by being sung by a woman. Who better than a strong, tough, rocking woman to declare "You don't have to live like a refugee" ("Refugee")? Etheridge makes few other stylistic changes to the song, but it becomes clear in her interpretation that this is a song best presented as a declaration from one strong woman to all others that it is time take a stand.

On her own, Etheridge is an impressive singer-songwriter. She has the ability to develop themes and stories in her rock songs, like the terribly depressing "You Can Sleep While I Drive." In that song, she sings about a couple running away together with lines like, "I'll pack up my bag and load up my guitar / In my pocket I'll carry my harp / I got some money saved / Enough to get underway / And baby you can sleep while I drive" ("You Can Sleep While I Drive"). The thing is, Etheridge turns that around in the finale, after the love has faded with the unsubtle, but often missed lines, "If you won't take me with you / I'll go before night is through / And baby . . ." ("You Can Sleep While I Drive"). It is a truly wonderful and well-developed song and it is emblematic of the quality of her works.

From there, The Road Less Traveled becomes a chronology of singles from Etheridge's career, exactly what one would expect from a greatest hits album. The lyrics range from bitter jealousy ("Similar Features") to hot desire ("Bring Me Some Water") to the loss of leaving a lover ("You Can Sleep While I Drive"). Okay, there's not much range here. Almost every track is about love or the loss of love. Or the longing for love. Or trying again.

And it may seem hypocritical of me to decry the album's thematic unity and then complain that the best track in Melissa Etheridge's career is absent from the album, but it's not. Etheridge has an amazing ability to make moody rock. She can make you dance to angry outbursts that seem timed to flailings at an ex-lover ("Like The Way I Do") and that is no small feat. But the album is missing Etheridge's best - and possibly most underrated - track, which is "Enough Of Me" from her album Breakdown.

The lack of "Enough Of Me," Etheridge's powerful, imploring single of utter despair, highlights the second problematic aspect of The Road Less Traveled. For a greatest hits album, this body has an awfully high number of previously unreleased tracks. Out of seventeen tracks, five of them are previously unreleased or unavailable. Tracks like "Enough Of Me" were muscled off the album in favor of "Christmas In America" and the cover "Piece Of My Heart." Granted, "This Is Not Goodbye" is a great song, but "I Run For Life" is likely to only succeed as a result of its affiliation with cancer awareness. It sounds like a song for a cancer awareness commercial and, well, it is.

At the end of the day, The Road Less Traveled is an album moved by a woman and her guitar. Her well-crafted lyrics evoke great emotions of love and loss and her music is memorable and recognizable. She is a true professional and a great rocker. Who will like this album? Anyone who truly loves rock and roll. Who won't like this album? I don't know, I haven't met that person yet, only those who are ignorant of her works.

While missing Etheridge's best track, the superlative track on The Road Less Traveled is "Like The Way I Do," though her cover of "Refugee" is inspired. The weak link, though it's hard to call it that as this is a pretty solid listening experience, is the lyrically predictable and somewhat obvious "I Run For Life."

Ultimately, my "not recommend" is only because there is a better version of this album out there and I would like to steer people to the Deluxe edition, which has more to offer even casual fans of Etheridge.

For other works by Melissa Etheridge, please be sure to check out my reviews of:
Melissa Etheridge
Brave And Crazy
Never Enough
Yes I Am
Your Little Secret
Breakdown
Nowhere To Go (single)
The Awakening
A New Thought For Christmas
Fearless Love

5/10

For other music reviews, please check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Indistinct Etheridge: An Unimpressive Secret - Your Little Secret

The Good: Some of the lyrics and music
The Bad: Most of the songs leave absolutely no impression
The Basics: In a disappointing outing, Melissa Etheridge sells a LOT of Your Little Secret based on the strength of one single.


Your Little Secret, Melissa Etheridge's upbeat follow-up to her six-times platinum album Yes I Am is what I shall politely refer to as a "coasting work." I was somewhat astonished to learn that Your Little Secret is tied with her debut in the U.S. for top sales. Having listened to the album repeatedly now several times, I'm left with one of two conclusions: it coasted on the success of Yes I Am or the American c.d. buying public is so fickle in its tastes as to be called tasteless. Your Little Secret lacks the force of "Melissa Etheridge," the angst of Breakdown (which followed it), the surprising strength of Never Enough or even the sheer singles recognition of Yes I Am. I strongly suspect the sales strength of Yes I Am had more to do with the anticipation following Yes I Am and the strength of the first successful single from the album, "I Want To Come Over" (which, unsurprisingly, is the only track from Your Little Secret to make it on The Road Less Traveled).

The nice thing is that now it's easier to see the results of Etheridge's post-fame outing without the hype. Your Little Secret is a ten-track album that presents the artful rock and roll of Melissa Etheridge. I call it "artful" because Melissa Etheridge remains a true artist on Your Little Secret, writing (or co-writing) the lyrics and music to all ten tracks as well as co-producing the album. She provides the vocals and electric or acoustic guitar on each track. In short, she is an artist expressing herself at every step of the creative process, maintaining her vision for her music. That is very respectable.

And Etheridge is an exceptional artist. Her lyrics are expressive and some tell stories in a folk tradition (though her music is solidly rock and roll). Poetics like "1:25 a.m. I thought that you were headed for the door / Then something touched my skin / I won't ask you to leave here anymore / Was it the talk or the drink or the dance that led to this / Was I so naive presuming the innocence / Well it's 1:54 and it's such an unusual kiss. . " are seldom found from mainstream artists. Etheridge's level of diction is high, her emotional expressiveness is unique and her poetics are easily some of the best coming from anyone who is charting as high as she is with her albums and singles.

And while that is a pretty solid general rule for Melissa Etheridge and her writing on Your Little Secret, this is the first album of hers that I've listened to where there was a conspicuously problematic set of lines. On the single Your Little Secret, Etheridge declares ". . . But one and one and one / Baby makes three. . ." It's not that "Come Together" (by The Beatles) owns the phrase "one and one and one . . .makes three," but it's such a distinctive line there that here it just falls flat.

And part of that is the fault of the music. To return to "An Unusual Kiss," a remarkably well-written rock track, the song does not match the passion or curiosity or intrigue of the lyrics. The song is quiet through the opening, then becomes almost desperate with musical force at the lines "Come on come on come on / Over and over . . ." The song is a song about being seduced (fairly willingly) and how a kiss evolves into something more. And it does not sound that way. The music and lyrics do not fit to compliment one another and the result is a track that is ultimately a musical disappointment.

The only truly balanced song on the album is "I Want To Come Over," which is direct, forceful, longing and demanding for attention. From the opening notes, "I Want To Come Over" is expressive and powerful about the desires of the protagonist of the song. It works and it is rightfully one of Melissa Etheridge's greatest hits.

But the overarching problem of Your Little Secret is that the majority of the songs follow the same format as each other. They almost all start out quiet, semi-articulate (though some are completely articulate during the quiet portion) minimally musical and then they transform abruptly into loud guitars, shouting voice and wailings ("I Could Have Been You" is the archetypal song on Your Little Secret). The contrast might work on the occasional track, but this is the constant jerking around of the listener's ear on Your Little Secret that is more troubling than musical.

In short, it's hard to sell this album even to someone who has been listening to a lot of Melissa Etheridge albums lately and enjoying them. Etheridge has done better and here the best track is on her greatest hits album and there's little else on this album to listen for. A far better use of your time and money would be Breakdown by Melissa Etheridge.

The best track is "I Want To Come Over," the weakest is "I Could Have Been You."

For other works by Melissa Etheridge, please be sure to check out my reviews of:
Melissa Etheridge
Brave And Crazy
Never Enough
Yes I Am
Breakdown
Nowhere To Go (single)
The Road Less Traveled: The Best Of Melissa Etheridge
The Awakening
A New Thought For Christmas
Fearless Love

5/10

For other album and singles reviews, be sure to check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing.

© 2013, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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So She Is, So What?! Melissa Etheridge’s Yes I Am

The Good: Good voice, Some nice lyrics, Some good instrumentals
The Bad: Outside the known singles, none of the songs "pop."
The Basics: While a solid rock and roll album, the best tracks on Yes I Am are all on The Road Less Traveled, making it hard to recommend this work.


I'm instituting a new standard for myself and my reviews; any artist who I like, especially enough to own their Greatest Hits album, will no longer have a "recommend" from me for any album prior to their "Greatest Hits" (if I own or have listened to it) if the best song(s) on the album I am reviewing appears on their "Greatest Hits." The short of this review is that while Yes I Am is a decent - if average - Melissa Etheridge album, all of the songs that are essential are on The Road Less Traveled - Melissa Etheridge's Greatest Hits.

Released in 1993 after Melissa Etheridge had publicly come out of the closet as a lesbian, the title Yes I Am openly acknowledges Etheridge as Out. Good for her. I mean that; it's nice for people to be free to be who they are without being afraid or ashamed of that. We salute you, Melissa Etheridge. Yes I Am was also probably Etheridge's most commercially successful album - especially on the singles level - with the first three tracks, "I'm The Only One," "If I Wanted To," and "Come To My Window" all being released as singles and charting well.

The problem is, if you've heard these three songs, you've heard the best material on the album. In fact, the only other song of note is Yes I Am. The other six tracks are distinctly Melissa Etheridge, but indistinct for anything else. In short, if you heard them, you might say "Oh, that sounds like Melissa Etheridge." None of them resonate with the vocal force, passion and guitars of "I'm The Only One."

For those unfamiliar with Melissa Etheridge, Etheridge is one of the few distinct female rockers who has never deviated from her rock and roll passions. She is an able lyricist, writing all ten tracks on Yes I Am. She is a musician, writing the music for all ten songs as well as playing playing electric guitar or acoustic guitar on tracks on the album. As well, she co-produced Yes I Am, once again defining herself as a true artist in control of her craft.

On the lyrics, Melissa Etheridge once again focuses on angst, longing and a lot of nervous jealousy. On her hit "If I Wanted To," for example, she cries out, "I could smoke drink swear and I would never grow old / I wouldn't have to be in love with you / If I only wanted to . . ." which is torturous, the way her narrator torments herself. Even fidelity is a trap for Etheridge's poetic representations, "You don't know how much I'd give / Or how much I can take / Just to reach you . . ." ("Come To My Window").

Etheridge is a great poet, often using unpredictable rhymes and expressive lines that perfectly characterize the emotion or theme she is exploring. And for a rock artist, she manages to tell a number of stories in her songs. "All American Girl," for example, could easily be covered by a folk artist.

Because Etheridge creates so many aspects of her own music, it is easy to postulate why it sounds so good. She is not singing another person's lyrics, so she creates songs that sound like she wants them to. The songs present an articulate concept of the lyrics and that is an achievement of its own these days.

The real gem of Yes I Am, which admittedly is not on The Road Less Traveled, is the full version of "Come To My Window." For those familiar with the song as it was played on the radio or from The Road Less Traveled - or the music video - Yes I Am has a full version which opens with a haunting, vocal version of the chorus. Etheridge sings the chorus a cappella and it's astonishing the effect. From the opening, the song (which in other version starts with the guitars) is even more longing and wrenching for it. It's worth a listen.

But it's hard to sell the album on it.

If you don't own a Melissa Etheridge album and you want to and cannot find her essential hits on The Road Less Traveled and want something less dark than Breakdown, Yes I Am is the next logical choice. It has three hit songs and is good, but it's not her best. And the best from this album is available on a better compilation.

The best song is the haunting rendition of "Come To My Window," I was underwhelmed by "Ruin."

For other works by Melissa Etheridge, please be sure to check out my reviews of:
Melissa Etheridge
Brave And Crazy
Never Enough
Breakdown
Nowhere To Go (single)
The Road Less Traveled: The Best Of Melissa Etheridge
The Awakening
A New Thought For Christmas
Fearless Love

7/10 (Not recommended)

For other music reviews, be sure to visit my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing.

© 2013, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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It Had To Have That One Song ... Never Enough Saves Itself and Then Some

The Good: Some good lyrics, "Dance Without Sleeping," Some good vocals
The Bad: Musically limited, Some predictable rhymes, Short
The Basics: On her third album, Never Enough, Melissa Etheridge continues to grow in vocal and thematic range while maintaining the integrity of a genuine artist.


As I listened to the first two tracks of Melissa Etheridge's third album, Never Enough, I thought this was perhaps the Etheridge album that might be dispensable, with all of the best tracks being present on her Greatest Hits album, The Road Less Traveled. "2001," the second track, did not overwhelm me. Then came the third track, "Dance Without Sleeping" and I just sat up and said, "Damn." This is a cautionary tale for those who would leap to conclusions too quickly.

Never Enough is a ten-track album that clocks in at just over forty-five minutes, which I still argue is too short. The only track from the album to make the cut to The Road Less Traveled is the opening song, "Ain't It Heavy." And it's a decent song - it won a Grammy, too - but it's astonishing that "Dance Without Sleeping," which was released as a single, did not make the cut.

"Dance Without Sleeping" stands out as an exceptional use of Etheridge's voice. Unlike most of her songs that she uses her voice in a way that is smoky, occasionally raspy and thick, "Dance Without Sleeping" is Melissa Etheridge as bells. Her voice is at its most melodic and sensual and it's astonishing for fans to hear. My favorite Etheridge album remains Breakdown, but there is nothing on that work that sounds as . . . sensual as her voice on "Dance Without Sleeping."

On Never Enough, Etheridge is presenting mostly rock tracks and "Dance Without Sleeping" certainly is an anomaly. She starts the album with "Ain't It Heavy," one of her most guitar-driven tracks and follows it up with the equally driven "2001." The fourth track is almost folk in the delivery as Etheridge sings an emotive song. But most of the album is straight rock and roll and it works well with Etheridge's forceful alto voice. And when she wants soft, she can deliver, but most of Never Enough is guitar-driven rock.

Etheridge continues her tradition of writing or co-writing all of her own songs (only two tracks are co-written on Never Enough) and she continues to exhibit that she is an able lyricist. Even without her voice, her lines are poignant, like on "The Letting Go," where she sings, "Freedom like a stone / Maybe we were wrong / But I can say goodbye / Now that the passion's died / Still it comes so slow / The letting go . . ." What a sentiment! "Freedom like a stone," so perfectly describes the bind of releasing a relationship, the double-edged sword of having one's freedom balanced against the loss of so much security and love.

Etheridge is an able lyricist and poet and on top of that, she wrote or co-wrote all of the music. It amazes me, after hearing Etheridge, that so many artists manage to write the lyrics, but not the music. Etheridge makes it seem effortless and I imagine the process of writing songs for her is deeply intertwined between the music and the lyrics.

Melissa Etheridge, for those unfamiliar with her works or talents, is also an able guitarist. On Never Enough, Etheridge plays electric guitar or acoustic guitar on eight of the tracks and piano on one of the others. Etheridge remains a true artist here, integral at all steps in creating the album, up to co-producing it. That's impressive and admirable.

What is distinctive about Never Enough is that Etheridge lets loose in more ways than just vocals. "Meet Me In The Back" is a fun song. Etheridge keeps it up tempo and exciting; it's a song about sneaking out back to make love in the dark. Etheridge is well known for dark, moody songs or rock songs that make angst into something that one can bob one's head to. But on Never Enough, some of the tracks are just openly fun, like "Meet Me In The Back."

That is not to say it's all fun and games. Etheridge's signature longing is present on many tracks, including the foreshadowing track "The Boy Feels Strange." She sings about loss of relationships ("The Letting Go" and "Keep It Precious") and closes with a more subtle track of desire ("It's For You").

And the album works all together. The tracks move very organically from one to the next, mixing fast and slow, harder rock and softer pop. For those who are unfamiliar with Melissa Etheridge, Never Enough makes a great introductory album, illustrating much of her range. Despite the musical limitations that come with primarily presenting songs with guitar, keyboards, bass and drums, Etheridge creates a wonderful mix with generally high caliber of expressive lyrics.

And there's no lasting hype to this album. As mentioned, only one track made it from Never Enough onto Etheridge's greatest hits; that's more a function of commercial success and retrospect than actual greatness. Never Enough seems like it should have charted more singles. Barring that, it's refreshing to hear a solid album by a genuine talent.

The best track is the vocally superb and lyrically sensual "Dance Without Sleeping," the weak point is "2001" which is fairly generic rock.

For other works by Melissa Etheridge, please be sure to check out my reviews of:
Melissa Etheridge
Brave And Crazy
Breakdown
Nowhere To Go (single)
The Road Less Traveled: The Best Of Melissa Etheridge
The Awakening
A New Thought For Christmas
Fearless Love

7.5/10

For other music reviews, be sure to check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing.

© 2013, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Melissa Etheridge Sings About What It Is Like To Be Melissa Etheridge On The Awakening!

The Good: Some interesting lyrics, A few good songs (instrumentally)
The Bad: Too self-referential up front, Vocally unimpressive for Melissa Etheridge
The Basics: A decent, but not spectacular, musical outing by Melissa Etheridge provides an album full of revealing personal and political songs by a great rocker!


One of the weaknesses, I suppose, of my listening to an album eight times before reviewing it (at least!) is that the songs that annoy me on the first couple spinnings sometimes wear me down so I am less sick of them by the time I get around to my review. Such is certainly the case with some of the songs at the front of The Awakening, Melissa Etheridge's concept album about surviving cancer and having a spiritual reawakening as a result.

My first two listens to The Awakening, I was unimpressed until the fifth track and then I thought only the middle of the album ("God Is In The People" through "A Simple Love") were worth listening to. Those middle songs are pretty wonderful, like Etheridge's Country-twang-filled tribute to fidelity with "Threesome." The process of getting there, though, was draining and boring, the songs that come after hardly hold a candle to them, so I was on the fast track to rating this an average album without the recommend. A few listens later and the ending tracks don't seem so bad and I no longer grind my teeth through the latter ones. I suspect that those who consider themselves Melissa Etheridge fans (I tend to enjoy her radio hits . . . and Breakdown) will like this album more than I did.

With sixteen songs taking up 59:26, The Awakening is a deeply personal album featuring the raw talents of Melissa Etheridge. Etheridge wrote all of the songs, provides all of the lead vocals and lead guitars. As well, she is credited as a co-producer on the album, pretty much eliminating the argument that she did not produce the album she wanted released. And on the balance, it is an interesting album and certainly one that has its share of being uplifting and interesting.

On The Awakening, Etheridge sings about being a singer ("California," "Message To Myself"), negotiating relationships over the years ("Threesome"), and standing up to the Bush Administration ("Imagine That"). The songs wrestle with the deeply personal, like strong feelings of guilt ("An Unexpected Rain") and the relationship between people and the divine ("God Is In The People") and the universal ("I've Loved You Before," "A Simple Love"). And largely, it sounds very much like Melissa Etheridge.

In general, that means having some well-written lyrics and The Awakening is no departure for that. On this album, Etheridge has more of a folk-rock sensibility as a singing storyteller and that works very well for her. Her sound is still more the rock-end of the spectrum, but her lines tend to be more overtly political or story-songs in a folk tradition. So, for example, she sings "A lieutenant in the army / In his heart and soul he believes / In the land of the free and the home of the brave / Now he's standing on trial / For he will not behave as they wish / He said 'I believe in the constitution / To defend it and uphold / I will not fight your war for profit / No sir I will not go'" ("The Awakening: Imagine That"). While the song will be dated (two months more . . .!), it is certainly a good song with a message that is universal enough for most of us to appreciate even after the current presidential administration ends.

One of the best songs on the album, though, is actually a storysong about the relationship between fame and eating disorders. Even after a dozen listens to this album, "Map Of The Stars" still impresses me with Etheridge's lines "So you got yourself an agent and you made a little deal / They got you on the TV and everyone agreed / You had the charm and the appeal . . . You landed hard on the map of the stars / Now everybody wants you . . . Every night they want you to be / One of the little angels . . . So you eat a little less / And you drink a little more." The song follows a tried and true rise and fall narrative (like Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers' "Into The Great Wide Open") but the song works wonderfully as both a storysong and a public service announcement.

But some of the songs are just too self-referential for my tastes. In fact, "Message To Myself" annoys me every time I hear it. Etheridge sings about writing herself a song so when she hears it, she'll be cheered up. There's just something irritating about listening to a song where the celebrity is so in your face that you don't need others around you, you can write a song, they'll play it and that's all you'll need. Sure, it's not as bad as an Eminem song (which tend to be all about being Eminem), but there's just something too singsong about the lyrics and inaccessible about the theme. I swear, everytime I hear the song, I find myself thinking, "Wow, wouldn't that be great to have a salve like that for my mental health, turning on the radio and bang, I hear myself telling me it's all right?!"

Arguably the best track on the album is "Threesome," a song that stands in defiance to the current pop-culture glorification of threesomes by declaring loudly and boldly (and frequently!), "I don't want to have a threesome / I don't want to sleep with nobody else / I don't want to be a swinger / I'd rather keep you all to myself!" Etheridge has a sense of humor and is able to bring it to bear in her music and that works beautifully for the song. She keeps it light, but meaningful and that has a very disarming quality.

Instrumentally, The Awakening is largely a rock album. Guitar-heavy and strong, the album does a pretty great job of sounding energetic and largely upbeat. "Threesome" is a bit more country than most Etheridge fair, just as there are ballads with "Heroes And Friends," "A Simple Love" and the songs toward the end of the album tend to be more contemplative than rockin'. Largely, this is a guitar-driven album that sounds like virtually every other Melissa Etheridge album in that regard.

Similarly, there is nothing extraordinary from Melissa Etheridge vocally on The Awakening. In the last few songs, singing largely about change, Etheridge holds some notes pretty long, but that's about it. She does not illustrate any real leaps as far as her tonal range and the result is that this album is limited to and characterized by her very standard scratchy low to mid-range vocals.

But it's still good and likely to satisfy anyone who likes a good female rocker as well as most people who like folk-rock music. Etheridge has something to say and on this album, she says it remarkably well for the most part.

The best track is "Threesome," the low point is the banal "Heroes And Friends."

For other works by Melissa Etheridge, please be sure to check out my reviews of:
Melissa Etheridge
Brave And Crazy
Breakdown
Nowhere To Go (single)
The Road Less Traveled: The Best Of Melissa Etheridge
A New Thought For Christmas
Fearless Love

6.5/10

For other music reviews, please check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Worth Going Back For - Early Melissa Etheridge

The Good: Wonderful lyrics, Some good music, Moments of voice
The Bad: Often a simple sound, SHORT!
The Basics: With wonderful poetics and a distinct, smoky voice, Melissa Etheridge's debut remains a worthwhile listening experience.


After Melissa Etheridge had released a bunch of singles from Yes I Am, radio stations began to play Like The Way I Do, from her debut album, as a new single before the release of Your Little Secret. In this way, she kept herself on the charts and boosted sales of her old debut while preparing her new album. It was a clever strategy. I still respect the concept, so when I was given the opportunity to pick up Melissa Etheridge (her debut album), I leapt on the disc.

Melissa Etheridge, is a ten-track disc that introduced the world to Melissa Etheridge, musical artist. I have a big thing about eponymous albums, but Melissa Etheridge seems to live up well to the autobiographical nature of an eponymous album given what little I know about Etheridge. The music on the album is angsty, but it rocks and it reeks throughout of a person who has been betrayed by others. Conceptually, it might be depressing, but if this is the persona Etheridge wishes to create or portray - in naming a c.d. her own name - she does it quite well.

For those who are unfamiliar with Melissa Etheridge - I recently encountered an 18 year-old young woman who had absolutely no idea who Etheridge was! -, she is a rock and roll singer-songwriter following in the tradition of Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, and - with the storytelling way many of her songs take - Joan Baez. She sings with unabashed sexuality ("I Want You" is very direct at the end of the album), wrenching loss ("Bring Me Some Water") and with the power of jealousy ("Similar Features"). And yet, she creates something completely enjoyable to listen to.

Despite having only ten tracks, Melissa Etheridge covers a wide variety of subjects with a solid rock sound as the common thread. The musical sound - strong guitars and drums - dominate and define the album and in some way limit it. The songs have diverse tempos, but sound similar enough to one another that any track on the album is easily recognizable as coming from Melissa Etheridge. Having listened to a few of her albums now - I own two - the development of Etheridge as an artist makes me wonder if one heard all her songs if one would be able to put together these ten songs as belonging to the same album. It's not necessarily a detraction that they all sound like they are from the same level of development - this is, after all, a debut. The tracks, however, lack the production or complicated experimentalism that come out on later albums, like Breakdown.

Some debut albums are best forgotten, but Melissa Etheridge is one worth going back to and enjoying. The most compelling argument for picking up Melissa Etheridge is that even from the beginning Etheridge was a true artist. Etheridge wrote all ten songs, sings them, and plays guitar on the tracks. As well, she is the album's co-producer and arranger, meaning that she was integral on every step of this album, which is appropriate given the autobiographical title.

And she does it well. It's easy to see why so many people went backwards with Etheridge when - in 1995 - they heard on the radio, "Is it so hard to satisfy your senses / You found out to love me you have to climb some fences / Scratching and crawling along the floor to touch you / And just when it feels right you say you found someone to hold you / Does she like I do . . ." (“Like The Way I Do”). Etheridge is poetic and dark and she expresses anxieties in such a way that still manages to rock. That is no small feat.

Etheridge's voice is a smoky, lower-register range that is very distinctive, like Grace Slick, of Jefferson Starship. In fact, Etheridge's vocals come closest to Slick's performance of "Somebody To Love" in terms of vocal force (if not precise range). Hearing Etheridge on "Like The Way I Do" makes one wish she would cover "Somebody To Love."

Melissa Etheridge is certainly a great album for anyone who likes rock and roll and it is a strong debut, limited only by duration and development. It foreshadows a positive career of an exceptionally talented singer-songwriter and is great for anyone who wants moody lyrics without - necessarily - depressing melodies. C'Mon, anyone who can make a song with a rock-dance beat about jealousy is worth your attention!

The best track is either "Like The Way I Do" or the slow and sad "Precious Pain," which is the distinctly different poetic presentation on Melissa Etheridge. Ironically, one of Etheridge's first tracks released as a single, "Chrome Plated Heart" stands out as the weakest track.

For other works by Melissa Etheridge, please be sure to check out my reviews of:
Brave And Crazy
Nowhere To Go (single)
Breakdown
The Road Less Traveled: The Best Of Melissa Etheridge
A New Thought For Christmas
Fearless Love

6.5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Solid Album By A Solid Artist: Breakdown By Melissa Etheridge

The Good: Excellent songs, Good lyrics, Good instrumentals
The Bad: One or two weak rhymes
The Basics: In a solid rock album, Melissa Etheridge explores the darker sides of love, loss and violence in our society with generally good lyrics and her distinctive sound.


In my review for The Road Less Traveled (Melissa Etheridge's Greatest Hits), I complained that the album lacked the best track of Etheridge's career, "Enough Of Me," so it seems fitting that I would pick up a copy of Breakdown, Etheridge's album that has that single. In fact, I'm thinking I ought to have a new rule in my c.d. collection; if I own an artist's Greatest Hits, I also have to have one album of theirs. I might be willing to do that, too.

Breakdown has been described as Etheridge's "dark" album and, in fact, it's not a terribly cheery outing. Unlike some of her albums that focus on love, this one is definitely one that is focusing on losing love and the inadequacies of love. Even the popular song "Angels Would Fall," which kicks that "If they [angels] knew you at all / Then one by one the angels / Angels would fall" is essentially about love being unrequited. So while there are some songs that have generally positive sounding lyrics, actually evaluating them based on what they say makes Breakdown a thoroughly morose album.

What strikes me right away about this eleven track album is that for all its thematic unity, it has a pretty rich sound. Put simply, no two tracks sound alike, despite the essential instruments being Etheridge's smoky voice, the guitar and drums. It does surprise me given some of the limitations I find with other groups that with so little in the way of instruments on Breakdown, that each track is so distinctive.

As far as the sound, this is a pretty standard rock and roll album. Etheridge is a professional rocker and Breakdown is a very standard album in that regard. There are no real surprises in terms of sound. Drums and guitar dominate, with some tracks having keyboards or one or two other albums. This is not a terribly audacious album in terms of sound. Etheridge certainly entertains and she rocks, but this does not have, for example, the musical diversity of Sophie B. Hawkins' Timbre (reviewed here!) which was an assortment of all types of musical sounds, instruments and styles. No, Breakdown is rock and roll from the first track to the last lick. Again, though, Etheridge makes each track distinctly different in sound so it's easy to listen to this album on repeat over and over again.

When we call this a "dark" album, we are referring to the mood created by the lyrics. In one of the albums least cheery tracks, Etheridge chronicles the death of Matthew Shepard. She writes "Showers of your crimson blood / Seep into a nation calling up a flood / Of narrow minds who legislate / Thinly veiled intolerance / Bigotry and hate." Obviously this is not a happy song. Breakdown explores the beating death of Shepard, the pangs of coming out to family ("Mama I'm Strange"), the agony of striving to be something to a loved one ("Enough Of Me") and flat out fear ("Into The Dark"). What keeps the album listenable while being consumed with lyrics like "I love you past the point of dying / Ain't that enough of me for you" is Etheridge's skill as a singer and her co-producer John Shanks.

A lot of credit has to go to the pair who work very well and it's surprising this album did not net more singles. "Stronger Than Me," despite some of the obvious rhymes (take it/break it, free/me etc.) comes right to mind as a great breakup anthem. One wonders why this album was not one of Etheridge's more prominent commercial successes (which it was not, as evidenced by the charts and it having only one song from this album on The Road Less Traveled). I suppose in 1999 she could not compete with the sugary pop of the Blonde Revolution (Spears, Aguillera, Simpson, etc.). It's too bad, though because songs like "Into The Dark" and the desperate anger of "Enough Of Me" are timeless and enduring.

The enhanced e.d. includes a music video and the usual such extras from back when companies still did them. Nothing earth shattering there.

Who will like Breakdown? Anyone who wants to rock through a bad time. This album has lyrics that explore sadness without really bringing the listener down, which is fairly impressive. Anyone who likes a strong album from a great female rocker will enjoy Breakdown. Who won't like this album? Anyone who is looking for real musical diversity. This is rock and roll, not country, not pop, not folk.

But it's pretty wonderful for what it is. And it's worth adding to your collection. The best track is the superlative of Etheridge's career "Enough Of Me," the weak track is the incongruent attempt at optimism "Truth Of The Heart."

For other works by Melissa Etheridge, please be sure to check out my reviews of:
Brave And Crazy
Nowhere To Go (single)
The Road Less Traveled: The Best Of Melissa Etheridge
A New Thought For Christmas
Fearless Love

8.5/10

For other music reviews, be sure to visit my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing of all my album and singles reviews!

© 2012, 2006 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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An Extraordinary Road, No Matter How Traveled: The Road Less Traveled By Melissa Etheridge (My Next Artist Of The Month!)

The Good: Nice retrospective, Great cover of "Refugee," Lyrics, Voice, Instrumentals
The Bad: Where is "Enough of Me?!" Thematically monotonous
The Basics: A decent collection of the known singles of a great rocker with new tracks to make it worth a fan's money.


Melissa Etheridge is a singer/songwriter whose works I have often enjoyed when I heard them on radio (despite the massive overplaying of "I'm the Only One" and "Come To My Window") and she's been on my short list of artists who I've felt I should pick up a Greatest Hits album from if it ever came into existence. Melissa Etheridge has released such an album and it is called The Road Less Traveled, something of an ironic title considering most every artist that survives three albums releases a Greatest Hits disc. The Deluxe Edition of The Road Less Traveled contains a c.d. with seventeen tracks and a DVD with twelve videos and a rather in-depth overview of each of the songs on Disc 1 as well as Etheridge's career thus far.

And what has Etheridge's career so far been? She is an established female rocker who has released at least eight albums (I would check the very nice discography on Disc 2, but my television was recently destroyed in a house fire). She is an engaging political activist. She is a breast cancer survivor and now works to raise awareness for breast cancer. And yes, she is probably in a race for world's most famous blonde lesbian alongside Ellen DeGeneres. A pathetic number of potential fans of Etheridge's works cannot get beyond her lesbianism to realize that she rocks with the best of Them (them, in this case, being the rest of the rockers in the world). Etheridge has created a solid musical body of work over the last decade plus and The Road Less Traveled showcases it.

It is a rare thing that an artist can get one to completely reconsider a piece of music when they do a cover of it. Etheridge succeeds, though, from the very first track, which is a cover of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' single "Refugee." Until Etheridge presents it, it does not quite pop, it lacks the depth its lyrics signify. Until one hears Melissa Etheridge sing "Refugee," the obvious is unclear; this is a song that gets vastly more mileage by being sung by a woman. Who better than a strong, tough, rocking woman to declare "You don't have to live like a refugee?" Etheridge makes few other stylistic changes to the song, but it becomes clear in her interpretation that this is a song best presented as a declaration from one strong woman to all others that it is time take a stand.

From there, The Road Less Traveled becomes a chronology of singles from Etheridge's career, exactly what one would expect from a greatest hits album. The lyrics range from bitter jealousy ("Similar Features") to hot desire ("Bring Me Some Water") to the loss of leaving a lover ("You Can Sleep While I Drive"). Okay, there's not much range here. Almost every track is about love or the loss of love. Or the longing for love. Or trying again.

And it may seem hypocritical of me to decry the album's thematic unity and then complain that the best track in Melissa Etheridge's career is absent from the album, but it's not. Etheridge has an amazing ability to make moody rock. She can make you dance to angry outbursts that seem timed to flailings at an ex-lover ("Like The Way I Do") and that is no small feat. But the album is missing Etheridge's best - and possibly most underrated - track, which is "Enough Of Me" from her album Breakdown. To add insult to injury, the video for "Enough Of Me" is not on the second disc. Instead, the second disc only has videos for songs that are on the first disc. In short, the underuse of the DVD medium - it can hold three hours worth of material, after all! - makes it a disappointing added expense.

The lack of "Enough Of Me," Etheridge's powerful, imploring single of utter despair, highlights the second problematic aspect of The Road Less Traveled. For a greatest hits album, this body has an awfully high number of previously unreleased tracks. Out of seventeen tracks, five of them are previously unreleased or unavailable. Tracks like "Enough Of Me" were muscled off the album in favor of "Christmas In America" and the cover "Piece of My Heart." Granted, "This Is Not Goodbye" is a great song, but "I Run For Life" is likely to only succeed as a result of its affiliation with cancer awareness. It sounds like a song for a cancer awareness commercial and, well, it is.

Outside this minutia, Etheridge admits on the DVD that she purposely did not include any tracks from Skin on here and her reasons are pretty solid. In fact, the redeeming aspect of the deluxe edition is the in-depth interview with Etheridge. She is articulate, funny, insightful and entertaining.

At the end of the day, The Road Less Traveled is an album moved by a woman and her guitar. Her well-crafted lyrics evoke great emotions of love and loss and her music is memorable and recognizable. She is a true professional and a great rocker. Who will like this album? Anyone who truly loves rock and roll. Who will best be suited by the deluxe edition? Fans of Melissa Etheridge. The videos are mostly Etheridge performing and lack real imagination or imagery, so casual fans are unlikely to be wowed by the videos, outside the extensive interview. Who won't like this album? I don't know, I haven't met that person yet.

While missing Etheridge's best track, the superlative track on The Road Less Traveled is "Like The Way I Do," though her cover of "Refugee" is inspired. The weak link, though it's hard to call it that as this is a pretty solid listening experience, is the lyrically predictable and somewhat obvious "I Run For Life."

For other works by Melissa Etheridge, please be sure to check out my reviews of:
Brave And Crazy
Nowhere To Go (single)
A New Thought For Christmas
Fearless Love

8/10

For other music reviews, be sure to visit my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing.

© 2012, 2006 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Young Rock In A Time Of Discovery: Brave And Crazy Ages Well!

The Good: Generally well-written lyrics, Good voice, Competent instrumentals
The Bad: Little variation in instrumentation and vocals, Predictable rhymes in the beginning.
The Basics: A pleasant listen, Brave And Crazy is one rocker's dawn with potential that won't be adequately tapped for at least another album.


Long before Yes, I Am, Melissa Etheridge put out Brave And Crazy and my first thought when listening to the very first track on the album was, "Oh My! She suffers from Avril Lavigne Syndrome." ALS, as I've taken to calling it around the house, is a condition that springs from my thoughts of Ms. Lavigne's first single "Complicated" (and only supported by hearing every subsequent song of hers), which is that given the chance to make a rhyme, Lavigne chooses the most obvious rhyming pairs. In "Complicated," for instance, you have "be"/"see" "cool"/"fool" and "fall"/"crawl" and on and on. That the populace didn't get sick of Lavinge's "Complicated" after ten listens surprises me, then again, it's teen buying force.

For Etheridge, it's "shame"/"name" and "me"/"be"/"see"/ "key" (in rapid succession) on "No Souvenirs," the first track of the disc. "No Souvenirs" is a pretty standard rock tune and, to be fair, it's a good opening song to the disc. It works in that it sets up the listener for guitar strummings, brassy vocals and noticeable drum work.

What follows are nine tracks of middling quality that generally surpass the average rock debut standards. Lyrically, the songs succeed. Outside "No Souvenirs" and "You Used To Love To Dance," the songs have excellent diction. Indeed, Etheridge here has an almost folk quality about her, painting stories with each song and creating a collection of episodes for the listener to travel through with her voice as a consistent narrator.

And her voice does it. Etheridge is easy to listen to. Her vocal quality is distinct and her her tone is enough to keep us entranced.

Unfortunately, Brave And Crazy does not illustrate much in the way of range. Almost restrictive in the sound, the album seems stuffy, as if it opens with saying "Here I Am!" then stopping and continuing to have the viewer look at the same facet rather than turning to show us all of the subject. There's a stifling homogeny to the vocals that is unfortunate, making many of the songs sound the same. Etheridge never ventures out of her safe alto-tenor range. The raspy voice never attempts sopranic lilts and while that may be for the best, the range that Etheridge works in feels more like "stuck in" by the end of the album.

Similarly, the music progresses with little deviation. There is a clear rock style. There are guitars, bass and drums. To be fair, there's the occasional keyboard, but it's a supporting player and not an influential sound in the album.

So, what ought one to expect from Brave And Crazy? This album is a collection of stories that share a simple theme: honesty. Whether it is the forceful, folksy rock sound of "Testify" or the quiet lament of "You Can Sleep While I Drive," Etheridge is telling stories with an honest voice. In the quiet, melodic "You Can Sleep While I Drive," Etheridge implores her lover to run away with her, while admitting "There's a chill in my bones." Nothing here is terribly idyllic.

In the penultimate track, the honest voice turns ironic, declaring that love is only simple. In that track, "Skin Deep," Etheridge combines lyrics that flatly declare one thing with a jester's tone that clue us in easily to the irony, the message is something else. In fact, only "My Back Door" becomes difficult to listen to with the repetition of the word "gone." Even with the occasional cliche rhyme, only "My Back Door" becomes truly tiresome.

So here, Melissa Etheridge is suffering from the usual problems of a debut album (which I believe, but am not positive this is): there is little range, the song titles are pretty much what one would expect from the refrains and there's nothing terribly groundbreaking here. This is the album that introduces the bird, perhaps the next one is where she will fly.

This album is ideal for anyone just starting an appreciation of women in rock and wanting to see some of the origins of today's rock acts. As well, it's a fascinating study in how far one artist may come in a decade (when compared to Yes I Am, Your Little Secret or Breakdown).

The best track is "You Can Sleep While I Drive." The weakest song is the fate-evoking "The Angels" which is the only song that removes responsibility from the players in the story and places it in the hands of another.

For other works by Melissa Etheridge, please be sure to check out my reviews of:
Nowhere To Go (single)
A New Thought For Christmas
Fearless Love

6.5/10

For other music reviews, please check out my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2002 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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(Mostly) Original For Christmas, Melissa Etheridge's A New Thought For Christmas Is Just Worth It.

The Good: Decent vocals, Some good lyrics, Decent instrumental accompaniment
The Bad: Some of her takes are troublesome (to say the least!).
The Basics: Generally, a rather original Christmas album, A New Thought For Christmas is more erratic track-to-track and there is a new two-disc version fans will want more than this one!


Melissa Etheridge is one of those musical artists who I have long respected and enjoyed following. I was very happy to get in her new album Fearless Love (click here for review!) and have reviewed her singled like Nowhere To Go (click here for that!). She is also one of the artists who I never thought would release a Christmas album (which I tend to see as more exploitative of the fan base, as opposed to genuine artistic expression). Last year, she took her A New Though For Christmas and made it into a two-disc set, which was amusing to be because I just got in last year's one-disc version. Ultimately, my "recommend" is mild and I'd recommend anyone who is serious about Melissa Etheridge's music get their hands on the two-disc version instead.

That said, A New Thought For Christmas is not as bad as I feared when I first saw that Etheridge was producing a holiday album. In fact, usually, my problem with such albums is that artists tend not to have anything truly new to say that others have not already said in singing the same Christmas standards. My problem with Melissa Etheridge's album is some of her departures from the standard interpretations come across sounding sloppy and cacophonic. Even so, there is enough decent original material to make any liberal happy around the holidays to have this on.

With an anemic running time of only 44:10 for the album's ten tracks, A New Thought For Christmas is a combination of original Melissa Etheridge songs - like "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" and "Christmas In America" - and holiday standards, like "O Night Divine" and "Blue Christmas." Etheridge provides the lead vocals for each and every song and she plays guitar on most every track as well. In addition, Etheridge is credited as a co-producer on the album. In short, this is very much the musical vision of Melissa Etheridge and her idea of what she wanted to do for a Christmas album.

What sets A New Thought For Christmas apart from most every other Christmas album is the unabashed politics of it. Etheridge is fearless in presenting an antiwar sentiment in songs like "Christmas In America" when she sings, "It's Christmas all around me / You're in someone else's land / So I'm sending out my only wish / Hey Santa tell the man / Hey mister send my baby home / This December I don't want to be all alone / Oh Christmas in America / I need you in my arms / Far away from harm / Mister send my baby home" Having heard that song originally a few years ago when it was clear it was an anthem against the War In Iraq, I was curious as to how it might hold up now, but it still does. Etheridge was smart to not make specific references and one suspects this will endure as a more timeless anthem like John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)."

On the songs that are not original, Etheridge presents her trademark rock and roll sound and it generally works. On "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," though, she kicks up the tempo and completely guts the emotional resonance of the original song. Instead of being lonely, it is like a celebratory anthem and I, for one, did not care for it. That said, her upbeat renditions of "Blue Christmas" and "Ring The Bells" work nicely. Her rendition of "O Night Divine" is a rather true-to-the-original one and those looking for something that sounds a little more Christmasy will like that, even if the more traditional piano arrangement has been replaced with Etheridge's guitar.

Etheridge sounds very much like Melissa Etheridge on this album, so those expecting some angelic soprano vocals will be unpleasantly surprised. Instead, Etheridge continues to sing with salty, more tenor-range vocals that make her sound like a smoker who is performing. The vocals are good, but they are a bit more gravelly, than virtually any other female recording artist who would put out a Christmas album. Again, there is nothing surprising for those who have heard Melissa Etheridge before in her vocal presentation here.

Similarly, her guitarwork is very upbeat and smart, just like one would expect from Melissa Etheridge. The album has a very produced musical sound, so each sound has the richness of a rock and roll guitar along with drums (most have bass as well). Those looking for a rockin' Christmas will find it in A New Thought For Christmas.

Lyrically, the most enjoyable songs are the ones Etheridge wrote. And just as Etheridge does not sound like the perky blondes or Celine Dions, Etheridge is not afraid to write and sing more moody Christmas songs. As such, she continues her trend toward the theme of loneliness, even on A New Thought For Christmas. So, those looking for upbeat may be surprised to listen to the actual lyrics and note lines like "We light a light / A light this year / ´Tis the season of change / What do we have / What do we have not / What do we need that isn't here / This mindless numb consuming / Is driven by a subtle fear" ("Light A Light"). And as long as one knows that coming in, it's fine. Many people, though, are bound to be in for a surprise!

That said, A New Thought For Christmas is a very contemporary rock and roll interpretation of Christmas music and Etheridge is a good vocalist and artist to present just such an album.

The best track is "Christmas In America," the low point is "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas."

For other Christmas albums, please check out my reviews of:
Wintersong – Sarah McLachlan
Elvis' Christmas Album - Elvis Presley
Midwinter Graces – Tori Amos

6/10

For other music reviews, please be sure to visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2010, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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A Good Song That Never Made It As A Hit: "Nowhere To Go."

The Good: Socially conscious, Good vocals, Decent lyrics
The Bad: SHORT! Nothing unique.
The Basics: A disappointing presentation of a wonderful, if typical, Melissa Etheridge single, “Nowhere To Go” (the one-track) may be passed by.


It always surprises me what makes it as a hit. In recent years, it seems to take some real unfathomable combination of elements to get a socially-conscious song to become a popular hit. So, while The Black-Eyed Peas “Where’s The Love?” hit #1 and stayed there, songs like Melissa Etheridge’s “Nowhere To Go” completely flopped. It’s disappointing, though, because Etheridge uses the song to mix the personal and the social quite well. And I like the works of Melissa Etheridge, even Fearless Love (click here for that review!).

There are two versions of the “Nowhere To Go” single, the commercially available one (with multiple tracks) and the radio-station one which has just the single, as presented on the album Your Little Secret. This review is of the radio-release one-track, which has since filtered into the secondary market. It is not worth picking up, despite the quality of the song.

“Nowhere To Go” is a 5:53 single written by Melissa Etheridge which analogizes being homeless with being full of unrequited desire (or being dumped, depending on the interpretation) and the comparison works quite nicely, but there is a version of the single which has a remix and another track to it which offers a much better value than this one. Etheridge wrote the song, provided the lead vocals and plays guitar on the song. She also co-produced the track.

This song is very much a typical Melissa Etheridge song with has a light rock quality to it, despite the fact that all of the vocals may be easily understood. The song is a mid-tempo, socially-conscious ballad and it is not exactly dancing music, it’s music to listen to while driving away, contemplating your life. It is very much a typical mid-90s guitar/bass/drums track and the tune is not one that sticks in the listener’s head after they are done listening to it.

Vocally, “Nowhere To Go” features Etheridge’s trademark somewhat raspy vocals which make all of her lines easily understood. She manages to get absolutely haunting for the oft repeated final line of the song. Etheridge sings in a slightly lower register than many of her counterparts in the female vocalist world.

Poetically, “Nowhere To Go” absolutely works. Etheridge has an amazing sense of imagery with lines like “Past the Wal-Mart and the prison / Down by the old V.A. / Just my jeans and my t-shirt / And my blue Chevrolet / It's Saturday night / Feels like everything's wrong / I've got some strawberry wine / I wanna get you alone / Down by the muddy water / Of the mighty Mo / In an old abandoned box car / Will I ever know / Dance with me forever / This moment is divine / I'm so close to heaven / This hell is not mine.” The song is melodic and the sense of being alone truly resonates from it. Etheridge once again proves herself to be a pretty incredible poet.

Ultimately, though, because there are better versions of this single on the market, I could not recommend it and because Your Little Secret may often be found dirt cheap, this single looks cheap by comparison. “Nowhere To Go” might be a smart, socially aware song, but this is not the way to get it.

For other singles, please check out my reviews of:
Baby One More Time . . . - Britney Spears
Right Beside You - Sophie B. Hawkins
Don't Look Back In Anger - Oasis

3/10

For other music reviews, please be sure to visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.




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I Have A Fearless Love But It's Hard To Recommend Melissa Etheridge's New Album.

The Good: A couple good, catchy tunes, Decent lyrics, Good vocals.
The Bad: EVERYTHING falls very much within what one might expect from Melissa Etheridge.
The Basics: With a very weak recommend, I find Fearless Love to be very familiar Melissa Etheridge that lacks a new hook.


I have the best wife in the world, of this I am absolutely convinced. She is not into female singer-songwriters or performers, but when we go out and she sees me eyeing something, she has a way of making sure I get it if it is something I am seriously interested in. And randomly, she'll pick me up things that I have a casual interest in. A few months ago, we were in a music store and I noticed that Melissa Etheridge had a new album out and two days later, my wife surprised me by presenting me with it. Truth be told, I have very few of Melissa Etheridge's works in my permanent collection. With Fearless Love, I'm not sure how much I actually want or need.

Right off the bat, let me say Fearless Love is not in any way a bad album. Fans of Melissa Etheridge will be pleased to have some new songs by her. The fundamental problem with the album is that the new songs hardly sound new. Anyone who has heard Melissa Etheridge songs on the radio will find the album to be predictable and familiar because with Fearless Love, Melissa Etheridge returns to rock and roll like the kind she used to make. Exactly like the kind she used to make. As a result, Fearless Love actually sounds a lot like a "lost collection" of singles more than an actual new, fresh album.

With twelve tracks, Fearless Love is very much the musical sound and vision of singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge. Etheridge wrote all of the songs and she provides all of her lead vocals. Etheridge also plays lead guitars - acoustic and electric - on the various tracks and she is credited as a co-producer with John Shanks on the album. As a result, Fearless Love is very much the album Etheridge intended to make.

Unfortunately for those eager to hear something new from Etheridge, Fearless Love does not have anything substantively new to rock out to. Perhaps the best example of this came from my wife, who did a first listen with me. As "Only Love" continued playing, she turned to me and said, "I keep waiting for her to belt out 'Come To My Window.'" If she had more experience with Etheridge and her work, she would know that virtually every song was garnering a similar reaction within me (just with different song titles). There is a very familiar and very limited sound to much of Fearless Love.

This sound comes, in part, from the fact that Melissa Etheridge is returning to her musical roots as a rock and roll artist. In that sound, Etheridge is part of the "one woman and a guitar" school of rock and that is what the listener gets on this album. There are a few times the keyboards break out, but for the most part each and every song sounds like it is one woman with a guitar leading a bass and drum combo which is accompanying her. On much of the album, the percussion is muted and it is the bass which helps keep time. The guitar is dominant, though and Etheridge strums her way into melodies that rock, like the title track and "We Are The Ones." There are a few quieter, more soulful ballads, like "Company" and "To Be Loved" which sound unlike other songs on the album. But while they might not mimic songs on Fearless Love, they sound familiar enough to other songs on Etheridge's other albums.

If the instrumental accompaniment sounds derivative of other Etheridge works (or, as my wife claims of "Miss California," a Pearl Jam song), the vocals are truly disappointing for anyone who has eagerly followed the career of Melissa Etheridge. Etheridge has a smoky voice and a very limited range which is in the lower alto register for many of her songs. On Fearless Love, she stays comfortably in that range. She belts out a few lines and illustrates lung capacity with holding the final note to "Only Love," but for the most part, the lines Etheridge sings are very much like she has sung every one of her radio hits.

At least many of the lines are benefited by the fact that Melissa Etheridge presents her lyrics with clear, crisp vocals. Even when competing against her own guitar, even when straining to be emotive, Etheridge succeeds in making her lyrics clear and easily understood. Thank goodness for small miracles.

And it is an impressive enough thing as Etheridge has something to say. More than just personal, Fearless Love has a political streak and it is refreshing to hear a song which sounds almost like a new Folk anthem for change with "We Are The Ones." In fact, were it not for the ridiculous repetition of the title line, "We Are The Ones" would be a powerful anthem. Even so, it is hard to argue with the way Etheridge boldly declares "We're dreaming from the bottom of the well / We're curled up in the corner of our cell / Freedom's just a story that we tell / I say give me liberty or give me hell . . . We are the ones we are the ones we are the ones / The ones that we're waiting for" ("We Are The Ones"). Etheridge is an able anthem-maker and her writing on this album is as tight as ever and it is a pleasure to hear her once more making music out of a demand for change.

Even so, as one might expect from an album called Fearless Love, most of the songs are about human relations and the struggle to find love and to live free of relationships that might not be working. It is a mix of heartwrenching and hopeful the way Etheridge sings "I'm still wanting to be loved / I'm still hoping there's enough / The constant wanting to be loved . . ." ("To Be Loved"). Etheridge has a voice that sells such raw longing to the listener and the song works as a lonely rock ballad that leaves the listener eager to know what becomes of the song's protagonist.

That sense of longing is the subject of the best and most distinctive songs on the album. With lines like ". . . all I want is company / Someone to understand this misery / Send a reflection of myself to me / Cause everybody needs some company / These times I'm living in just make no sense / Sometimes my face gets pushed against the fence / I want to scream out in my self-defense / But I don't want to be alone" ("Company"), Etheridge completely captures the angst of desire and the pangs of loneliness felt by . . . well, pretty much anyone at one point or another in their lives. Etheridge uses fairly simple diction to make her points clear and the lyrics work poetically as well as thematically and musically.

But the new Melissa Etheridge poems are not enough to make this new album seem new. Too much about it is too familiar for even those who only like the radio hits of Melissa Etheridge. Ultimately, my "recommend" is a weak one - it came from a cointoss. Even so, I can justify it for two reasons: the musical world is better off with rebellious singers even if they crib their own material and when Melissa Etheridge sings something that sounds familiar, it's still sounds better than what most commercial artists are getting airplay for these days.

The best track is "To Be Loved," the weak track is the entirely unmemorable "Heaven On Earth."

For other works by strong female artists, please check out my reviews of:
The Green World - Dar Williams
Siren - Heather Nova
Live! The Bad Kitty Board Mix - Sophie B. Hawkins

5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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