Grown Up Music Therapy
Paula Marie Jones | Ventura , California USA | 05/06/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is my first musical introduction to Robin Frederick.
After many decades of love songs (and other songs) that have used, abused and recylced cliches, Robin's music is a fasinatingly welcomed voyage for this listener, who is also a singer and songwriter.
Before hearing her music I spent time just with the lyrics to "Water Falls Down" and was immediately impacted by the power of the poetry. Then I decided to read the many reviews of her previous CD's and was educated on the interesting use of her rhythm grooves, instrumental choices and also noted the stylistic and vocal comparisons to other well-known artists. This furthered my curiosity when the time came to finally have my devoted listen to this CD. From the first moment I was able to determine for myself that Robin is a gifted artist, intelligent guide and herself, an incredible Muse. She has a beautiful voice with alluring, mystical qualities that gently float and yet she feels very grounding. Her lyrics are like reading a documentary field journal with raw personal experiences that she had witnessed but was powerless to change. Her music will be best appreciated by seasoned lovers, avant garde poets and the self examined. She (gratefully) passes through the ports of call for the sea sick lovers who find comfort in familiar rhyme-time or catchy chorus hooks. Be warned that when you begin this voyage, within the first two tracks of "Water Falls Down" and "The Messenger" that the name of the ship that you have boarded is called REGRET... After that she moves through various other emotional waters until she finally finds some peace by asking for help (from the unseen world) about her pain and regret with the final track, "Angel, Cover Me". I found it a privilege to travel with her through these intense love and loss experiences. The uncharted territory and deep feeling fjords of this most personal voyage with Robin was very vulnerable and real. The best way for me to describe this CD is Music Therapy Grown Up. I hope to journey with her again in the future and suspect that her unique style of writing and voice weaving will become a standard to which others singer/songwriters will be compared."