Alana Davis [Fortune Cookies]
Here's something new, a disc that i bought quite a while back on Ebay, and i've always looked forward to playing it, there's a big reservoir of discs to play, i almost never buy a disc and play it on the same day as i bought it!, in fact the same week or the same month is rare too!, she looks like an exciting find, however some of the best discs visually, turn out to be the worst aurally, in sound i would say she's sort of like Joan Armatrading, but with a more R&B beat [at times], she's almost impossible to pigeonhole, where do you chuck her?, i guess she would go into the same place that Tracy Chapman and Beth Orton would go, on the Last FM Website, one of the top similar Artists is Shawn Colvin, maybe gives you some idea, well this is only a first listen, and i don't make hard and fast opinions on one listen, things can change dramatically the second time i spin the disc, but this was an enjoyable enough experience to get into my Blog today.
Alana Davis is American, she's now 38 years old, and she recorded this disc in 2001, i bought this album because of the front cover, wow! just look at that hair!, i could easily bury my face in there hahaha, the cover is wonderful [photo by Eric Johnson], a wry smile with lipgloss lips, a plain background which shadows at the bottom, a nice distinctive top, love the browns throughout, and the lettering is small and cute, i love this cover a lot.
I set this to play on random, and the first few tracks made me feel that she's fairly average, nothing special about her musical creations, a bit of a disappointment really, but fate had it that the very best two tracks came at the end, tracks 3 & 5 were excellent, it changed my opinion of her, and my opinion of the album, i'll certainly be looking forward to hearing this album again within the next year, here's a synopsis of these two tracks,
3 When You Became King - the best track in my opinion, it has this constant acoustic guitar vibe i love, it's a very soft track, the lyrics are wonderful,
5 I Don't Care [Lonesome Road] - another very acoustic and soft track, wow again, that voice is just butter, it melts in my ears if you get what i mean, it starts off with a breathy almost whisper lyrics, and a restrained acoustic guitar as background [0:00-0:17], and then the instruments kick in [0:18+], it's a fabulous moment, a real cello comes in [0:25+], another great moment, there's a gentle string orchestra of real strings, they bring in a heartbreaking quality to the song, there's an instrumental break in the middle, where those strings gently swoon and sway [1:15-1:39], and i find my emotions swooning and swaying along, the second verse is terrific, and the words are so meaningful,
Here's her album Fortune Cookies on Amazon, you can hear 30 second samples of all of the tracks.
3 When You Became King - the best track in my opinion, it has this constant acoustic guitar vibe i love, it's a very soft track, the lyrics are wonderful,
I've never known someone so much like me
Yet you're your own, and parts of you
Remain a sweet mystery
i can't place that plucking guitar vibe, it's really getting to me, ha! it's Bron-Yr-Aur by Led Zeppelin!, her voice is smooth, it just ghosts in from nowhere, there's excellent percussion from Bashiri Johnson, a sort of gentle chuck a chuck a chuck in the background, she's got a lovely voice, and a lovely way with words, yes very Tracy Chapman-esque.5 I Don't Care [Lonesome Road] - another very acoustic and soft track, wow again, that voice is just butter, it melts in my ears if you get what i mean, it starts off with a breathy almost whisper lyrics, and a restrained acoustic guitar as background [0:00-0:17], and then the instruments kick in [0:18+], it's a fabulous moment, a real cello comes in [0:25+], another great moment, there's a gentle string orchestra of real strings, they bring in a heartbreaking quality to the song, there's an instrumental break in the middle, where those strings gently swoon and sway [1:15-1:39], and i find my emotions swooning and swaying along, the second verse is terrific, and the words are so meaningful,
Smiled, someone at the red light smiled
Saved me, saved me from my inner strife
Baby he just saved my life
after the words are finished, there's a sort of long outro, where Davis hums away, it's a gorgeous track, in retrospect possibly even better than the other.
