Search - Marlee Macleod :: There We Are

Getting Found

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 03/09/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Marlee MacLeod's disc was playing in my car. My wife said, "She's not a very good singer." My daughter said, "She reminds me of a cross between Lucinda Williams & Buffy Sainte-Marie." In deference to my better half, I think it is safe to say that Marlee will probably not be doing duets with Josh Groban or Celine Dion. However, while her voice is unique & may require a period of adjustment for some, her music packs a punch with this crack band and suits the offbeat unsympathetic bent of this material. I think the closest comparison would be to Amy Rigby whose "Til the Wheels Fell Off" is also a great CD.



For example, on "Such a Hammer" the band rips a furious lead guitar with some tasty slide thrown in that propels this track like a postgraduate course at the School of the Rolling Stones. Lyrically, Marlee writes some extremely interesting lyrics like on "All Is Well," "You're so lovely when you're lying, under the table when you're trying, in another vodka rocks, wish the time back on the clocks." "You Already Know" has a strong lead guitar part that breaks like the Stones' "The Last Time." "Autherine" sounds positively retro; and I have utterly no idea what it's about, but it sounds SO good. The opener "Cautionary Tale" rocks deliciously with Marlee's guitar zooming furiously and a wonderful lyric whose melody somehow just doesn't quite fit the romance she describes, "She swung at his heart like it was a pinata til she got what she wanted, and the blindfold made her aim that much truer, she cleaned out the safe deposit box, but she left her house & car keys, took off for the sky much bluer, if you put it out there, it'll just get taken." "Ride" is another excellent track, "I'm not scared of getting lost, it's the getting found instead." "Ever After" has a lead piano on a number about twisted romance, "I read you like a dirty book, I kept you under lock & key; and when I went to have a look, nobody knew but you & me." The one acoustic strummer "Better Than" is such a sad pitiful romance that it could rank up there with the work of Loudon Wainwright III. Minneapolis' Marlee MacLeod is certainly not a top 40 artist; and her songs will almost certainly never be recorded by Faith Hill. But like John Prine or Tom Waits she has a unique personality whose voice compliments her material. And she blazes on guitar with this incredible band. Enjoy!

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