Search - Sloan Wainwright :: Life Grows Back

A Rose in a Glass

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 09/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sloan Wainwright's new album is another delightful entry from this excellent artist. Sloan opens the set with the glorious declaration of personal freedom, "When I Walk Away," with its folkie acoustic strum & that builds royally, "I'll leave a peach on a plate & a rose in a glass & look at the other way when I walk away." "Between the Lines" may be my very favorite track on a CD filled with strong songs. Its addictive beat & lovely melody have me reaching for the repeat button each time I listen to this CD. On "Bad for Her" she displays her unique sense of melody with Fred Lieder's cello giving depth to the arrangement. "These Are the Days" is a midtempo folk rocker written with Stephen Murphy with Pete & Maura Kennedy adding a full sound to the lovely chorus, "Reach out your arms, Shelter the children from harm, As our future & our only hope, they will guide us through the dark." Sloan's full-bodied alto throbs appealingly on the rocker "The Baby & the Bathwater," "It's hard to hear her use profanity, to punctuate the white hot litany." "Meet the Sun Halfway" must've been written at one of the songwriter retreats Sloan attends since it has four other song writers on a song of remembrance, "Running through the field with her Shadow at her heels, she gets lost in the way it used to be." "Out of Her Hands" is a slow ballad with Peter Kieswalter on piano and Fred Leider's cello highlighting Sloan's gorgeous melody, "Surrender to the light shining through." The pop effervescence of Sloan's closer "Something That Comes Close" reflects Wainwright's passionate vocals nearly losing control, "Something that comes close to passionate, a chip in our veneer, the missing piece where the truth seeps out; Are we victims or volunteers?" Sloan's latest is a great follow-up to her "Cool Morning" CD. This is simply some of the best adult music on the market. It's intelligent, literate, feeling, melodic, & brims with gusto! Bravo!"