Today’s game of Ulti was less than
inspiring and my team lost badly. However, a day out running around with
friends is fun regardless of whether you win or lose, so I declare it a success.
Is this next album a success? Er…kind
of.
Disc 857 is….Afterglow
Artist: Sarah
McLachlan
Year of Release: 2003
What’s up with the Cover? Sarah, looking beautiful and deep
in thought. At this stage of her career McLachlan had sold a lot of albums,
making me wonder why she still feels the need to wear some homeless man’s
sweater.
How I Came To Know It: I’d liked Sarah McLachlan for
years, so when this album came out in 2003 I just bought it as a matter of
course. It ended up being the last Sarah McLachlan album I ever bought, but for
all that I still like it.
How It Stacks Up: I have five Sarah McLachlan albums. Of those
five I put “Afterglow” in fourth spot, just ahead of “Touch”. And since this is
my last Sarah McLachlan album here is the full recap, as tradition demands:
- Solace: 4 stars (reviewed back at Disc 249)
- Surfacing: 4 stars (reviewed back at Disc 758)
- Fumbling
Towards Ecstasy: 3 stars
(reviewed back at Disc 703)
- Afterglow: 2 stars (reviewed right here)
- Touch: 2 stars (reviewed back at Disc 624)
Ratings: 2 stars but almost 3
Sarah McLachlan is one of those artists that got a
lot of airplay in my stereo for a decade or so, but now rarely makes it into
the rotation. “Afterglow” is not as strong as some of her earlier records, but
it still has its moments.
On the plus side, McLachlan’s voice is still strong
on “Afterglow” fifteen years after she released her first album, “Touch.” She
is also an underrated piano player. She tickles the ivory with an easy grace
and just a dash of jazz sensibility.
Because of this I found myself wishing both the
vocals and piano would be more forward in the mix. The album suffers from a
holdover of mid-nineties production, with too many layers and fuzz to let the
songs shine through. I get that this is pop and not folk music, but even a pop
song needs room to breathe. Instead we get odd little blue notes spread with
wanton abandon through songs that can stand on their own without the dubious benefit
of such parlour tricks.
On top of that mid-nineties business, there is an
excess loudness to the recording level which was a common malaise at the start
of the oughts. The bass thuds heavily in every track, and turning it down just
pushes the vocals and piano further into the corner.
There are strong moments on the record despite the
limitations of the production. The best song by a wide margin is “Worlds On Fire,” which appears to be McLachlan’s
response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. The tragedy brings out the best in
her, as she thoughtfully explores the vulnerability we all felt in the wake of
the attacks, mirrored against whatever fault lives in mankind that allows people
to commit crimes like 9/11 in the first place.
McLachlan’s lyrics have always edged toward the
schmaltzy, but when she’s on her game she manages to stay genuine. On “Afterglow”
she strays on both sides of the line. “Train
Wreck” feels overdone with McLachlan playing the part of a drama queen that
I would cross the street to avoid, and a production that is so overly smooth
that the whole display feels like an act.
Better is “Push”
which has its own fair share of overblown lyrics, such as:
“Every time I look at you the
world just melts away
All my troubles all my fears
dissolve in your affections
You’ve seen me at my weakest but
you take me as I am.”
Blech. That is bad stuff, but because the song is a
bit more restrained and Sarah’s voice has a natural warmth she gets you to
believe it. Similarly “Answer” is
well served by just being McLachlan’s voice and piano. The sound is still a bit
thick, but it is stripped down enough to still feel intimate enough to match
the lyrics.
The lyrical nadir on the album is also the album’s
biggest hit. “Fallen” is packed with oddly
mangled sentences structured to serve forced rhymes.
“Though I’ve tried I’ve fallen
I have sunk so low
I messed up
Better I should know.”
“Better I
should know” sounds like a line written by Yoda. Yoda is a great role model
if you’re training to be a Jedi knight, but would be the world’s worst English
teacher.
“Afterglow” is not a bad album, and as 2 star albums
go I had a favourable experience. If you can cut through the dubious production
decisions there are a few hidden gems that make the overall experience worth
your time.
Best
tracks: World On Fire, Push, Answer
No comments:
Post a Comment