Search - Carmen Lundy :: Solamente

In flight & artistry soaring...Bravo Carmen Lundy!!!

Bradly Briggs | TOLUCA LAKE, CALIFORNIA | 08/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Solamente" is an introspective & deeply satisfying view in to the heart & soul of the most brilliant Singer/Songwriter around today Carmen Lundy...ten plus CD's later since the mid-eighties, this stirring & quietly passionate work is a beautifully illuminating masterpiece! Carmen sings, arranges and composes all songs except of course the deeply moving "America, The Beautiful" and plays all instruments with skill and depth that is stunning and hopefully this time Grammy will give a long overdue deserved nod to a great artist who has moved in the world of revelant music to legendary status with her impressive body of brilliant work that is second to none. Taking flight in "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings", Carmen etches a portrait of yearning for growth and recognition wanting to soar high in the sky and brings it all to life with tremendous vocal beauty and remarkable skill. Be mesmerized by cool jazzy gems like "Lay Low" and blown-away by the beauty of her gorgeous voice in the stunning "Show Me A Sign". "Free As A Child" features a top-notch vocal as rich as a tapestry supported by a fascinating & brilliantly complex arrangement then comes the anthem of this engrossing musical adventure and "Move On" has to be the most telling song in recent years about various frustrating injustices & society ill's In America today especially when it comes to the lack of recognizing true artistry...recognition goes to plastic "American Idol" superficiality instead of the real thing...making things better in an artistic sense, acclaim for this classic would be a great starting point. Carmen shows love of her country in a glorious "America, The Beautiful" being the most incredible version in recent years and the riveting "Without Your Love", a bluesy and soulful stunner, becomes an intensely passionate tour-de-force! Funky party closer "The Out Crowd Pt.2" fades with a jazzy rap and completes a brilliant set by the greatest Jazz Singer/Composer around...visit Carmen at My Space site then savor & enjoy killer concert clips on youtube for a really special treat, then if luck brings Carmen your way in concert, hold on for a thrilling ride & night to remember with the greatest...Bravo Carmen Lundy!!!"

Very Impressive; But...

Rick Cornell | Reno, Nv USA | 12/26/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I purchased this c.d., knowing nothing of Carmen Lundy and expecting, from its title, to be yet another set of bossa nova covers tinged with saudade.



But no. The reason for the album title is that Carmen Lundy sings, plays piano, bass, drums, harp, guitar, percussion, and has written, arranged and mixed all of the tracks (except one, noted below). That certainly makes the liner notes shorter!



All of that sounds extremely impressive; and it is. I was reminded of Mike Oldfield and "Tubular Bells," recorded when he was 19-years-old, and a similar self-produced effort. That album was a monster, was the soundtrack for "The Exorcist," and started the "New Age" movement on Virgin Records. (And nothing Oldfield has done in the intervening 36 years has come close to rivaling it, I might add.)



But this is not "Tubular Bells." As much as I want to give this c.d. 5 stars, I just can't. Amazon wants you to go 5 stars if you love it; and I admire it.



The issue is that the end product sounds like smooth jazz, and that simply is not my favorite genre. I will say that the songs are more heartfelt than your typical smooth jazz fare; and the highlight for me is the back-to-back duo of "Move On" and the one non-original, "America the Beautiful." This duo makes you think of the America that should be, the America that could be, but the America that is. And I like Ms. Lundy's voice; it is similar in timbre to Dianne Reeves', albeit not with Ms. Reeves' range.



My issue, I'm afraid, is that the melodies aren't especially catchy to me, the musicianship isn't especially virtuosic to me and, as I said, the smooth jazz format doesn't make me want to hit "the repeat button" on my player. Perhaps I'm being a bit unfair: I remember having the same sort of first impression last year with Rebecca Martin's self-penned "The Growing Season," but the more I listened, the more I adored it. But I like folk jazz inherently (which is what that c.d. essentially is), and that's the difference. RC



"