Customer Reviews

Calm Before the Storm

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

 

 

When I first heard that Lauren Harris had put out an album I immediately thought, "Here we go. Another untalented, pampered young'un of some rock star (in this case, one who can't sing in the first place LOL) is trading off her father's name to make a buck." Like I said, I thought she was Kelly Osbourne.

But then I went to her MySpace page because I am an open-minded kinda guy and listened to her music. It was pretty darn good. Not the kind of music one waxes long and eloquent concerning its cultural and/or social significance, but the kind to be put on and just loved for what it is: simple, straight-on, noisy rock music. This young lady has a good voice and a good sense of song structure. I liked the lyrics and the music. Like I said, I got Lita Ford.

I loved this and I can't wait for the next release. What else need be said for an album?

I saw her open up for maiden twice and on the Sowhere back in time tour and thought she did a great job out there and had allot of energy. I picked this album up and found it to be good listen and is chocked full of memroble tunes and has a cool cover of UFOs Natural thing.

Many make the claim that all Lauren Harris has going for her is being the offspring of one of the most famous bass players & song writers in the world of metal for the past 30 years.

Certainly her father's connections within the music world helped her. I have no doubt about that. But if one actually listens to the album they will find that Lauren does have talent. Now if you're looking for something that sounds like Maiden or that has every song written about war and/or death, as is the case with most Maiden tunes, you won't like this. You'll find that she's not simply a younger female version of her dad.

It has much more of a rock sound than metal, but I enjoyed it.

What Comes to mind when you think of Lauren Harris? Nothing? Seriously?

Did you know that her father is none other than Bassist Steve Harris of Iron Maiden?

You didn't? Well good; because this isn't about him!

What I mean to say friends and fellow Amazon shoppers is that Lauren Harris is not a "Daddy's Girl". She Doesn't play bass (that i know of) and she doesn't have Eddie for a mascot on her SOLO ALBUM!

Which is good! When I first heard of Lauren Harris i thought " is she related to... naw!" boy was i wrong!

What I was also wrong about is the style of her music. I didnt know what to expect. And i'm glad i kept an open mind.

" Calm Before the Storm" Harris' first album came as a great and pleasant surprise.

It didn't mimck Iron Maiden, and it is a great rock album for her 1st time out.

The Tracks are as follows:

1. Steal Your Fire - 4:31

2. Your Turn - 3:41

3. Get Over It - 3:49

4. Like It or Not - 3:28

5. From the Bottom to the Top - 3:41

6. Let Us Be - 3:53

7. Hurry Up - 4:18

8. Come on Over - 4:09

9. Hit or Miss - 3:54

10. See Through - 3:43

11. You Say - 4:30

12. Natural Thing (Bonus Track) - 3:23

Now; I had heard some people complaining that it wasn't metal enough. Well personally, i am glad she does her own thing.

It shows that she has her own style of music, and that as an Iron Maiden fan, and a Music fan in general, It gives me something fresh to listen to.

I think " Your Turn", " From the Bottom to the Top", and "You Say" are really excellent in the fact that they show off Lauren's sulty voice and her vocal range. "Get Over It" is a great song because it's a fun poppy-rock song that just gets into your head. And to top everything off; "Steal Your Fire" and "Natural Thing" are just hard-rocking songs that make me want to crank the volume up!

I think one of the best thing is that Steve Harris plays bass on a few songs, but it's a different style than what i'm used too! That also was a treat as a fan of Music and Maiden!

This is a must buy because it's fresh, fun and a very emotional and energetic album.

The Good

Catchy riffs and a hook laden chorus draw you in on "Steal Your Fire." "Your Turn" recalls a little of that 80s movie soundtrack vibe with it's pulsing keyboard and fuzzy guitar riffs. "Like It or Not" has a great rock riff to it. "Hit or Miss" hits you with arena rock rhythms. The bonus track, a UFO cover of "Natural Thing," is by far the best track on the album.

The Bad

Lauren Harris has absolutely no vocal range and doesn't even seem passionate about the material she's singing. One has to wonder why she the last credited song writer on 95% of the songs. In addition to that, the lyrics are quite basic.

The Verdict

I really wanted to like this album since I am a fan of her father's work in Iron Maiden. It's tough to tell if Lauren Harris wants to be pop or hard rock. The band is hard rock, but the voice is pop. Harris never challenges her voice during the higher-end pieces and sounds down right out of tune on the ballads. In all fairness, Harris is new to the music scene, and with a little luck, she'll learn to craft memorable songs, devote more time to her vocal melodies, and stand on her own.

Given the genetic predisposition of Lauren Harris you'd think that she'd instinctively know good music when she hears it. Or at the very least you'd suppose that being reared by Steve-fv<k!ng-Harris would have exposed her to some good music, and definitely some very good Metal. But alas, this does not seem to be the case. After listening to 'Calm Before The Storm', Lauren Harris' debut offering, one could rationally presume that she'd been unconventionally but lovingly raised by her "Two Mommies" Pat Benatar and Kip Winger. OK, like you I've heard rumors that Kip Winger is a man, but I've neither seen nor heard convincing proof of that claim. So, I'm choosing to err on the side of caution.

Now, even though Lauren is the child of a Metal icon she is of course in no way obligated to follow in the Metal footsteps of her father, and she clearly chose not to here. This is a Rock album, not a Metal album, and that's just fine, however, the problem lies in the fact that this isn't a particularly good Rock album either. It's not horrible, but it's clearly nothing inspired or special. I can't quite put my finger on the problem here, but I suppose that's because there isn't just a single weakness, this album is instead mediocre in all respects. However, with that being said, there are occasional hints of hidden potential here.

They say the apple never falls far from the tree, but hurricane force winds must have been blowing the day Lauren Harris dropped, as that apple by some means drifted and meandered into an uninviting parallel universe. It would have been VERY cool if this album had kicked @ss and taken names, but unfortunately for all that is simply not the case.

I like Lauren's voice but I was disappointed in the songwriting. There are a couple of gems on the album. I think with some good solid songwriting she could be a success. The songs I enjoyed the most were the one's where Lauren was credited.

Yeah, ok, I just sampled the music on iTunes. That's why I'm giving this three stars. Average. If I heard more, I may have given more, I may have given less. This is as fair as I can be.

But that's as much as I will listen to this. She opened for Maiden? Come on. If she was anyone other than Steve Harris' daughter, the guy wouldn't spin this album for more than the 1 1/2 minutes I spent trying to listen to it. She sounds like a Disney channel singer with a decent band.

No disrespect to Steve Harris, or his daughter...but man...

"Get Over It?" Are we serious? I'm over it.

Actually, just a little tip. Maybe she should go into mixing soundtracks for chick flicks. Then maybe they'd be watchable.