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If a person had
to name all of the white female
singer/songwriters who have been
influenced by R&B, he/she would be
putting together a very long list--one
that would range from Carole King,
Bonnie Raitt and Natalie Merchant to
more recent arrivals such as Amber de
Laurentis, Sam Shaber, Shana Morrison
(Van Morrison's daughter) and Marly
Hornik. Like those artists, Lisa Madison
isn't an R&B singer per se but is
definitely soul-influenced--and that
appreciation of R&B often asserts itself
on Kiss the Sun.
That isn't to
say that Madison, who has a sweet, clear
sort of voice, will win over any urban
contemporary stations with this CD; an
urban programmer would likely conclude
(rightly so) that Madison is basically a
pop-folk/adult alternative singer and
not a hardcore R&B singer à la Alicia
Keyes or Mary J. Blige. But like King,
Raitt and Joan Armatrading--three of her
influences--Madison obviously realizes
that pop singing can still be soulful.
And those R&B overtones serve Madison
fairly well on "Take a Chance," "I'm
Comin'" and other selections.
Not all of
Madison's pop and pop-folk offerings are
R&B-influenced, but many of them are.
Madison isn't the sort of
singer/songwriter who insists on doing
all of the writing herself; though she
co-wrote several of the songs, she has a
lot of help from other songwriters, who
include Jerry Strucker (the CD's
producer) and Ron Romero (who is listed
as executive producer and helps Strucker
with the arrangements). And she isn't
one to exclude covers; one of the best
things on the album is a remake of John
Lennon's "Imagine." Kiss the Sun
falls short of exceptional, but it's a
decent, sincere outing and indicates
that Madison is well worth keeping an
eye on.
Alex
Henderson |
