Simple but powerful
12/14/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Gina's Soapbox is a great beginning for an artist. It is full of interesting paradoxes, or unusual combinations of traits. Although it is only voice and electric guitar it carves deeply in the soul. The voice is tender, almost childish, nevertheless quite original, or at least not run-of-the-mill, and in any case genuine. The sweetness of the voice does not delete the deep anger and distress beneath it. Her songs are about social denounciation, the bitter fate of Native Americans, the shallowness of mainstream American culture. They are also about longing, saudade, and love. In these postmodern times when (often too light) sophistication reaches baroque proportions, Gina's work is very refreshing and highly unusual. Yet, at the same time, there is some complexity in Soapbox, all the more interesting because it is not so obvious. I found that the harmonies, the disjointed rhythms are reminiscent of Syd Barret's work, especially in his solo period. It is raw enough that I believe it was done "naively", but it is still beautiful.
Gina Chiala has been more occupied with her activism for justice commitments than with her art (which is "engaged" art by the way), and so it seems that has not been producing as much as we would like her to produce. She is a graceful, soulful artist and a beautiful, loving human being; she is very talented, far more than many so-called "artists" who are on the show-biz, and she certainly deserves more "success" (even though I am sure she doesn't like that word) and support from all of us."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1