Comments
Cleveland, Ashley
First it's the voice. That same soulful, powerful instrument that launched a thousand smiles, back on her mainstream record debut, Big Town, and as background vocalist supporting folk like John Hiatt and Emmylou Harris. Then it's the songs, which even a stint trying to serve up the pabulum required to gain Christian radio airplay on Reunion Records, "Bus Named Desire" and "Lessons of Love," could not drain of their potency and tendency toward honest humanity. Cleveland's smart pop/rock connects to a broad audience, but the lyrics find a similar tone as Mark Heard's "Stuck in the Middle," too sacred for the sinners, too earthy for some of the saints. But not this sinner/saint, when Cleveland celebrates the "Power of Love," and reminds us in "Wired" that "love goes a long, long way," she's on common ground. "Land of the Living" gives thanks to God for all of life in the shadow of the events of 9/11, "Faith Like a Little Child" offers an oft-overlooked admonition of wisdom, "Broken Places," a duet with Jennifer Knapp, touches the heart of the human condition that we all know more about than we like to admit. There're a couple of missteps: her rewrite of Hiatt's "Riding With the King" is forced and unnecessary, and she adds little to Neil Young's "Needle and the Damage Done." Sure, Cleveland may "Try Too Hard," but when she prays "Don't Let Me Fall," and admits "I been so good, except for the drinking, but He knew that I would," in "Jesus Gonna Be Here Soon," she gets to the truth of grace and our need for it. And then there's her husband, Kenny Greenberg's hot guitar playing, and we're back to that sensual voice again and the passion she inspires. Lord, have mercy; Ashley Cleveland's the real deal. [ 204 Records/Brian Quincy Newcomb]
This album review was originally printed in ISSUE 98 of HM Magazine. Order the Print Version of HM for tons more reviews of new albums.
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