British singer/songwriter
Judith Owen, for whom
Here is her fifth self-released album, is the ideal performer for music fans who wish
Joni Mitchell had gone on making records like
Blue and
For the Roses back in the first half of the '70s.
Owen sounds like she has a complete collection of
Mitchell's albums, at least up as far as
The Hissing of Summer Lawns, that is, and also a general familiarity with the works of
Carole King,
Kate Bush, and
Tori Amos. She writes and sings quiet, melodic songs dominated by her slow, careful piano playing and richly considered voice. Especially because of her accent, she often sounds exactly like
Bush and
Amos (who often sound exactly like each other, of course), at least when those singers are not wafting into their soprano ranges. But her lyrics are never as obscure, instead aiming for emotional clarity. That brings back the
Mitchell comparison, and the difference there is that
Owen sounds like a woman who is happily married with a child rather than suffering romantic turmoil, at least in the present moment. Although the first two songs, "Here" and "You and the Moon" seem to be about a lost and fondly remembered love and a love suffering from separation, respectively, the key songs are the third and fourth ones. "Best Friend" is full of advice to a loved one, while "Worship" is a recollection of a bad, but compelling love affair by someone who is now in a good one. As usual,
Owen demonstrates a surprising taste in covers, giving a jazzy reading to the old
Survivor hit "Eye of the Tiger," which is a funny idea, but also taking on
the Kinks' "I Go to Sleep," a less appealing choice since another influence,
Chrissie Hynde, got there first with
the Pretenders.
Here is an unfailingly tasteful and listenable collection, but it's the work of a confessional singer/songwriter who doesn't have all that much to confess. ~ William Ruhlmann