Search - Emma's Revolution :: One

Truth, Strength and Comfort for Desperate Times

Carl E. Gunther | West Hollywood, CA USA | 03/31/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is about being unwavering in one's commitment as the world is coming undone. It is about understanding the responsibility of an artist to re-envision the world, and holding on to that commitment no matter what comes. It's about two women who write and sing from the heart and the mind, who despite having found one another have managed to remember everyone else as well. It's about love not just for a person, but for a community of people, even when that community is so repressed that it seems to only exist in your own mind.



Prior to this album, I knew Pat Humphries from her 1992 album "Same Rain." Her voice on that album is unique, both strong and sensitive, as well as clear and pure. The genre is folk and folk-rock. The overriding quality is inspirational. You cannot listen to it and remain unmoved.



"One" represents a deepening of both the songwriting and vocal quality of that initial album through a collaboration with Sandy O, the other half of Emma's Revolution. Sandy's voice is a perfect complement to Humphries', and their harmonies are not just those of notes but also of personality and consciousness. Humphries' voice is one of those remarkable instruments that only grows more resonant with age, and 12 years after her debut it has changed only in its increased complexity while losing nothing of its original clarity and strength. As a duo, they have tremendous integrity.



The genre is still folk-rock and folk-pop, and the arrangements, musicianship and production quality are simply as close to perfect as I have ever heard, with a wide circle of contributors who have otherwise backed such well-known artists as Dar Williams and Bonnie Raitt.



The songs are filled with remarkable storytelling. "If I Give Your Name" is perhaps the most striking. It tells the story of (among others) an undocumented worker whose wife is lost in the World Trade Center atrocity, but who is unable to step forward to inquire about her because of fear of deportation. To me, this speaks so eloquently of the wheels of injustice between which the oppressed are tortured and crushed, giving the lie to the attitude of offended virtue that has been used by the present Administration to orchestrate a campaign of vengeance that has led only to an incalculably greater degree of horror and atrocity. But their genius is that instead of saying all that, they just tell this simple story, and we realize those truths ourselves.



This is not one of those albums where there are a few good songs and a number of disappointments. Not a single track is wasted; there's nothing to be skipped over when listening to this album. That is no doubt not only because of a commitment to craft, but also because of a commitment to living the music that these musicians so evidently have."

Great songs, Great message

Jeanette D | Northern VA | 04/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard Emma's Revolution at a church show in Manassas, VA. I was so moved by the experience I had to buy the CD. WOW! It is one of the best CD's I've ever heard. Great folk rock beat with lyrics that leave you thinking for the rest of the day. Highly recommend this CD."