Customer Reviews

Everything You Need

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What you have here is a woman writing her own music, singing her own songs. This record is not full of teeny-bop tunes about texting your BFF, written by a 45 year old man.

It's clear that the musicians on the record understand phrasing and pacing. Manda's voice is smoldering at times, full of emotion and depth. It's unlike any I have heard in a long time. She controls the songs well. The subtle harmonies on many of the tracks play so well together.

Aside from her great vocals, the music is uplifting. I felt that it was all put in place to support her brand of singing and the music does it's job well. A lot of acoustic guitar, clear tones, and light rhythm. Splash in some smooth solos and harmonica and you've got the idea.

This is an artist singing from her heart, performing for you. I highly recommend it.

There are so many things to like about Everything You Need: The sophisticated songcraft, the uniquely haunting vocals, and the sense of rootedness to a larger American musical history (Manda demonstrates a healthy respect for blues, country, folk, and rock in equal measure) are some. But most impressive of all is the way in which Manda presents her diversity of musical styles, as she is able use her influences rather than letting them use her.

Not content to be merely derivative, Manda maintains her own voice and makes each song hers. "Thank You," for example, benefits from her unconventional singing style. Her rich, deep, mature vocals (no pop fluff here!) suggest an artist at home with the blues, not one "putting on" the blues. When Manda breaks out the harmonica and walks the path paved by classic rock artists like Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young, on songs like "It Can't Be Wrong" and "Don't You Know," she sounds natural. She has both the songwriting chops and the passion to convincingly pull them off. And then, just when it appears that Manda can be figured out, she throws "Lay Me Down," a modern rock song, into the mix.

Manda is a breath of fresh air in a musical landscape stale with little girls (and boys) making easily consumable (but immediately forgettable) pop trash. If you like good music, real music, give Everything You Need a listen.

I bought this album recently on the recommendation of a close friend and I was pleasantly surprised. Most new artists of the last 15 years can be described as sounding just like someone else. Instead of reproducing her favorite artist's music Manda has used her influences as the ingredients for her own well crafted and arranged music. I appreciate her style as it's feminine but also has that soul and grit of true American music. This is shown best on the last track Thank You, which feels raw and unrehearsed and it makes me think of one of my favorite blues artists, Muddy Waters. If you're looking for some well crafted classic American music then I highly recommend this album.

I bought this CD a month ago, since then, I am totally addicted to Manda's uniquely appealing voice! Now, I cannot stop listening to her CD every morning. You really should try her music once, then you'll know!!!

This CD rocks!!!!!!!!! I keep blasting Lay Me Down and One True Love and the electric guitar is awesome. I also really like the song Keeps On Turning which has a haunting sound to it. This is becoming one of my favorite CDs. I saw her perform on The Late Late Show, she's HOT and am glad I bought the CD.

Wow! Every song on this album does it for me in a different way. Why don't people write like this anymore. I've come to the point where I can only listen to female artists that have something to say, a songwriting caliber of a Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, Clare Burson, and Manda Mosher brings that to the table in a music scene cluttered with meaningless trivial dribble.

A good review on this album is up on All Music Guide:
Review by Michael Berick

If you just listen to this disc's brief opening track "Intro" and closing tune "Thank You," you'd get the idea that Manda Mosher is one of those lo-fi neo-folkies trying to re-create the old-timey music of yesterday. But the disc's bookending tunes don't give a very accurate impression of this album as a whole. Better yet, start with the knockout second track, "Lay Me Down." On this potent rootsy rocker, the willowy L.A. blonde lays out her musical game plan for her dynamic debut. It's a marvelous mix of Sheryl Crow-style rock balanced by Mosher's husky, Aimee Mann-ish alto. The Mann effect is more present in the following tune, "Keeps on Turning"; however, Mosher offers a more optimistic world view ("the world keeps on turning" despite bad times) than Mann typically does. The song also boasts an engaging earthier sound courtesy of Jamie Muhoberac's organ and Ido Sasson's searing guitar work. Throughout this album, Mosher reveals a nice knack for penning love songs that avoid sappiness. The spare "Everything You Need" exposes an inner strength within its simple (although far from simplest) emotions. A lovely, stripped-down rendition of Pete Townshend's "Blue, Red, and Grey" delivers more joys about the simple things in life. The more uptempo, harmonica-powered rocker "One True Love" is a catchy ode to survival that reveals her affect for Tom Petty's music. "Wash It All Away" is another strong track with Mosher's vocals soaring over a melodic but urgent rock foundation. The disc's smart mix of rootsy rock and quieter, acoustic-based moments brings to mind Crow's Tuesday Night Music Club debut. While it might not contain that album's chart-toppers, Everything You Need contains everything Americana rock fans need -- it is an impressively confident and compelling disc that bodes well for Mosher's future.

OMG I WAS FORTUNATE TO MEET MANDA. SHE SUCH A BEAUTIFUL CHARMING LADY !! I HAD NEVER HEARD HER MUSIC UNTIL I MET HER. SHE IS INCREDIBLE !! NOT ENOUGH EXPOSURE , SHE ROCKS !! SHE IS SO TALENTED, I WAS SO AMAZED. I WOULD PAY TO SEE HER ANYDAY !! ALOHA