'I WANT THE WORLD'

Get Rhythm
NewCastle England

A private release from a young American lady who is about to record a new album, maybe with a 'proper' record label. So let's see what you get for your money if you bought this CD at a Julie gig (she's opened for Freedy Johnston, Loudon Wainwright 111 and Iain Mathews).

Well I'm sorry to say that if you do this kind of CD for promotional purposes and gig sales you're going to have to have a careful think about recording standards, musical ability - not only yourself but of those accompanying you - as the Americans have it all wrapped up. Julie has a stunning voice, the music is of the 'gentle country/singer songwriter' type and even though this is a private release the standard of performance and recording can really only be described as breathtaking. Great musicians and singer/songwriters may be crawling out of the woodwork in the States, but what is evident here is that the record companies have outshone themselves in missing 'seeing the light'.

Back to the album, gently meandering like a stream in the background as I prattle on with my nonsense, there's a lot of similarity between this and the Janis Ian 'Hunger' album - not in the production but in the overall feel of the emotions evoked. Pete Kennedy is the 'man in charge' with all the various guitars from electric through high-strung, nylon strung, slide plus bass and percussion, all done in sympathetic manner without ever becoming 'radical' - not dominating, decorating, all so well recorded without all that Takamine top-end you hear so much of these days. Maura Kennedy helps with the backing vocals and harmonies. 'Rhythm of Life' is not only a very good song but also a very commercial one, it has the qualities that make The Corrs successful.  'Running on a One Way Love' also has that 'immediate' feel, 'Surprise Me', has a relaxed jazzy/John Martin groove, that's only three from the set and only lack of space prevents me from doing a 'track by track'.

I'll stress that this is not a new release although it will be new to readers, that doesn't make any difference, it's as fresh as the day it was recorded and if you want to make the effort, I wonder if anyone will, it's worth it for this 10 track collection of self-penned songs, you could email Julie about getting a copy.

I get the feeling that in my quieter moments I'll be giving this more than a few spins. Lie back and enjoy. We shall be hearing more of Ms. Sanderson, I'm sure. cjh