Customer Reviews

Beth Waters

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Cause I've been playing this album to death. There's something about the simple musical repetition, the sparseness at times and the beautifully and almost painful lyrics that grabbed me and wouldn't let go. Most artists are reluctant to indulge in personal tragedy or heartbreaking memory and instead do the tried and true...love longs, breakup songs, poor poor me songs. Not Beth, she sounds sincere. There's mood, feeling and truth in this album.

Marc

Oh my, Beth Waters has touched me like no other artist. I can't believe she isn't more well known. Her album is beautiful, tragic and surreal. Every minute of this album is gold.
Every track really is a standout but there are a couple that stick with you. The album ends with the tear jerker 'Dad' - it's extremely sad yet so beautiful. I also loved 'Philosophy', 'Down To Me', 'Blue and White', 'Mom', 'Slut Song' and 'Surrealistic'...though all the others are amazing too. This woman must be from another planet because these songs are too good to be real - her voice is soft, beautiful and a breath of fresh air compared to what we've been getting in 2004. A meaningful singer songwriter with a wonderful piano to accompany her vocals and lyrics.
People have said she's too similar to Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan - why? Because she has a piano? Jeez, what's with people thinking all female piano players are the same? Although I love both Tori and Sarah (Tori is my all time favourite), Beth is outstanding. I would recommend this album to anyone - if I had tons of money, I would buy a copy and give it out to random people. This kind of album comes out once in a blue moon:

One that can change your life. For the better -

Thank you, Beth.

I saw Beth Waters perform at Slims in San Francisco. I was not planning on getting there early enough to see her. I am so glad I did. I bought three copies of her CD, and hope to see and hear LOTS more from her! She opens her mouth, and out comes this beautiful, rich voice. She is young, and I think will grow as a singer and performer, but... trust me, this is a CD worth owning.

I am always looking for new female artists to listen to, as that is my favorite genre by far. I love the sounds of Tori, Sarah, and Alanis. I saw this on the shelf at a local Tower Records and made it a point to go back home and sample some cuts of Beth on the internet. I was taken in immediately with the first couple of 30-second cuts. So much so, that I ran right back out to Tower to by the disc.

Not many CDs blow me away right out of the wrapper, but to say this one did would be a huge understatement. This CD instantly became one of my favorite CDs out of my many hundreds of discs and I played it over an over (and still do). I liked every single song on the CD and started ordering copies for friends and family around the country that also like the same genre. Every single person I sent it to had a very similar reaction as mine. They were just amazed at everything Beth could do from her incredible piano, to her beautiful lyrics, to her superb voice. I even went to her website www.bethwaters.com to order a copy of her first CD "Over the Tide", which is also another wonderful CD.

Beth is actually a local performer here in the San Francisco Bay area and I have seen her several times. She is excellent in concert and, to me, it is just a matter of time until she is a famous musician/singer/songwriter. That is why I try to see her as often as I can, as there will come a time when many people will wish they had seen her in these intimate settings when they had the chance.

Well, I think I am running out of adjectives. All I can say is that if you like this genre of music, I find it just about impossible to think that you will not be completely amazed with this CD. And, if you live in the Bay area, I highly recommend monitoring her website regularly to find her upcoming local performances so you can see her close up, while you still can. Enjoy!!!

Beth Waters' sophomore cd sounds very mature to me. I think she has found her path in music and she's now ready to improve her sound even more, if that's possible.
Sometimes a little too over-produced to me (I wish that certain tracks would have remained acoustic or with basic arrangements), the new cd is really good.
Her perfectly clear and warm voice never misses and her piano skills are still very impressive. Plus she seems to have grown a lot musically since her last release in 2000 ("Over The Tide").
This cd is a must-buy for me (no wonder it's been in my cd collection for over a month now already!). Two big thumbs up to Beth!

Ghisy

This is another one of those CDs that you pop into the stereo and know within moments that it's one you will be listening to over and over again for a long time. It feels like a staple in my music collection by the second song.

The production is high quality. The songs are thoughtful, emotional and well written. The voice matches the songs beautifully with power and feeling.
This CD has it all: outstanding vocals, exceptional musicianship, intelligent lyrics and gives the listener an all around wonderful feeling.
(read full review at collectedsounds.com)

The world has no shortage of earnest young female singer/songwriters, and while I'm a fan of the genre I'd be the first to admit that a fair bit of it is self-indulgent or overly precious or even worse, just plain dull. Beth Waters though, has enough going for her as a songwriter that this self-titled release (her second album) never falls into those traps.

Waters' songs, which are mostly of the meditative, reflective variety, are based around poignant and interesting piano arrangements and have a warm, smooth sound that washes over you quite beautifully. Her voice though, is the real selling point, and as vocals go, Beth Waters are near perfect. It's a beautifully pure instrument - ethereal yet earthy and always a pleasure to listen to. Waters does the downtempo ballad thing well, but every now and then it's nice to hear her voice soar - as in the chorus of the powerful opening song 'Sweaters' or in the quite wonderful 'Spun Sugar', a song so good that Jewell would give her right arm for it. Another highlight is 'Down To Me' which has a nice sense of drama and tension to it.

With a little more range and originality in her material, Beth Waters could really go far, but for now, this is a solid, well produced collection of songs that will likely appeal to fans of Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos or Jewell.

After discovering Beth Waters by accident on a playlist site, I decided to buy this album on a whim after hearing "Sweaters". I was blown away. I felt shockwaves after listening to this CD because it's so beautiful and well done. Beth Waters is a jewel in the rough. It's rare when I find a singer/songwriter I love in the same vein as Tori Amos, Jewel, and Emiliana Torrini. Her lyrics are poetical and real. Very much like Ani DiFranco, but her style is piano-centric. For me, the hidden jewel on this album is track 8 "Edge Of The Earth". It's reminds me a lot of Sinatra's "Fly Me To The Moon" because it's so jazzy, but it fits in with the rest of the songs.

You will not be disappointed with this album. You'll come back to it time and again.

If you like this album, I also recommend Disarming, Fisherman's Woman, and To the Bone.

This album change my life. I love her words and singing voiice. She sound like million angels from on high. Very beautiful and poetic. I love the Beth Waters music.

It's clear Beth Waters went to school on Tori Amos and Sarah McLaghlan, but she hasn't graduated yet. This album is a bit more interesting than McLaghlan's last effort(actually, what, yawn, isn't?) and even a bit more musically adventurous than Tori Amos's repetitive, meandering Scarlet's Walk, but annoying lyrics(listen to Mom-an anthem to be played at all PTA meetings), and sedentary hooks mar this album. I like her voice best when she is loud and not borrowing from Sarah or Tori. I'd like Beth to take more chances instead of sinking into derivative excursions like Sweaters. She needs to take more risks and her piano tinkerings don't really shine that much.
She needs to dive into some Aimee Mann and Ani DiFranco and get a little dirty and dark with her tunes.(otherwise, can you say Lounge Act?)