Search - Libby Roderick :: Lay It All Down

Each album gets better.

02/01/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been a fan of Libby Roderick since I first heard the song "How Can Anyone Ever Tell You". This latest album shows her maturation as a performer. The arrangements keep getting better and her voice seems more confident. The lyrics weave extraordinary tales of everday life. As I sit here atop my own tall stack of bones I anxiously await her next storytelling session. May many more come before my bones slip beneath the earth."

The cure for a bad day

bethtexas | United States | 01/30/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The opening track on this album says it all ... LAY IT ALL DOWN. It says, "Sometimes two arms simply can't hold you. Sometimes two legs are simply too weak." In other words, it's OK to admit you're overwhelmed. It's a long, smoky ballad urging you that it's OK to know your limits and just let a few things go. And that soothing message is just the opening track of this 'help you through your day' album.Libby Roderick's music has always been optimistic and cheerful. On this album, a new quality appears for the first time, I think - an acknowledgement that optimism sometimes fails us. This time, the songs aren't exclusively sunshine and hope. This time, hopelessness is acknowledged. But it's soothed and overcome rather than handed a victory. I WISH I STILL BELIEVED IN ANGELS is a perfect example of that slight shift in theme. She's saying she wants to believe in angels ... but they just don't seem real to her anymore. Not because life is SO DISMAL - there's no sense of that. But just because ... just because they don't seem real anymore. "But I do believe in love" the song concludes, admitting complexity but rejecting despair.Libby Roderick's voice is low and warm throughout the album, accented by an expressive strain from time to time. This album is a real lifesaver at times when you need to stop and reflect. A good gift to yourself, I think."