Customer Reviews

Gravity | Love

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

 

 

Sandra McCracken's record, Gravity | Love puts on a clinic about the beauty of language. It does not use any out of this world images to create interest or feeling. It does not rely on ambient musical arrangements to pull you in. It uses very real, honest, everyday images to reveal heartache, struggle, love, joy.

While Sandra's use of lyric is as strong as ever, this record is strong on all points. Arrangements are rootsy and very real and Sandra's vocal has never sounded better. The album flows extremely well, with its climax found in the song Portadown Station. This particular one pulls you gently into its grasp with the simple piano & strings arrangement and finally releases you from its clutches so you can sigh. I've listened to this song several times, and I have yet to finish without being fully engaged emotionally. A song-writer has achieved something when you transported into another world with the use of simple music and rather simple lyrics. You will get the same feeling from the track All The Miles.

Listening to this song alone makes it worth the price of the whole album. Sandra has a way with words that removes all surprise that her husband's writing has gotten consistently better and better. Gravity | Love is a collision of emotion and is a demonstration why Sandra used to be known as Nashville's "best kept secret." While no longer a secret, she's definitely one of the best. You will not regret your purchase.

One person reviewing Gravity / Love called Sandra McCracken a songwriter's songwriter. I think I understand what he meant. If husband Derek Webb's songs tend toward the pointed or prophetic, Sandra's are equally strong in originality and artistry. Her songwriting is what you would hope for from a Christian artist: creative, intelligent and free of cliches. Her writing is comparable to that of Sara Groves.

Whereas Derek is more direct and overtly Christian, Sandra is more poetic and subtle. One has to stop and think about what she is saying to fully grasp the meaning in the lyrics. She shares an ability with her husband of being able to bring a fresh perspective to such common themes as our relationship to God and our life in this world.

The music is a combination of folk, pop and light rock. There's even a slight country sound on "Longway Home," with its pedal steel guitar. The band, which includes Derek, is excellent. Derek's subtle background vocals provide wonderful harmony. There's a nice mix between piano ballads like "Portadown Station" and "All The Miles" and the more up-tempo tracks like "Gravity."

One of the pleasant surprises is "Goodbye George," the only song not written by Sandra. The opening acoustic guitar sounds a lot like "Here Comes the Sun" by George Harrison, and once you hear the vocals, you realize that it's no accident. This is a beautiful tribute and goodbye to Harrison that draws on phrases and thoughts from his life.

"Broken Cup" with its an infectious melody and lyrics that point to the inadequacy of things would be right at home on one of her husband's recordings. "Chattanooga" is a great, turn-up-the-volume road song.

These thoughtful, poetic muses are woven with a rich tapestry of sound. Sandra and Derek make a great team, and Derek certainly helps make her shine. But the spotlight is on Sandra, and she shows that she is more than adequate to stand in it. Aspiring songwriters or those seeking to improve their craft can listen and learn. Maybe that's what it means to be a songwriter's songwriter.

Sandra McCracken
Gravity|Love; 2006
Towhee Records

My Rating: 80/100

A road record for the endless highway...

Sandra McCracken has built herself a reputation as the thoughtful girl-next-door, and her fourth album, GRAVITY|LOVE, is her strongest offering to date. Folky songwriters can often miss the point when it comes to concept, but Sandra gets it right here, crafting eleven cohesive tracks centered around Love as Gravity as Love. Not that she ever gets cerebral about it, but these lovely tracks speak to the deepest of human longings. Yet the greatest strength of this record is that she casts it as a road record, every track seeming custom made for hitting the open highway in search of God knows what. From the joyous opener "Head Over Heel" to the sad-eyed "Portadown Station", this is a record more about departures than arrivals, especially given the brilliant tribute to George Harrison, "Goodbye George." Like U2, you get the impression that although Sandra knows what she's looking for, she still hasn't found it. That's okay - being along for the ride will do.

Cohesion (4.5/5)
Concept (4.5/5)
Consequence (4/5)
Consistency (4/5)

Tracks:

1. Head Over Heel (5/5)
2. Long Way Home (4/5)
3. Goodbye George (5/5)
4. Gravity (4/5)
5. Traincar (5/5)
6. Portadown Station (4.5/5)
7. Doubt (3.5/5)
8. Broken Cup (4/5)
9. Shelter (4/5)
10. Chattanooga (5/5)
11. All the Miles (4/5)

This song is truly special, and would be any songwriter's masterpiece. The rest of the album has some very nice things on it, but nothing like this.

I've played this album over and over again and doubt I'll ever tire of it. Sandra McCracken's songs almost demand repeated listenings just so you can think a bit more on her somewhat abstract and very poetic lyrics. Among my favorites are Portadown Station, Broken Cup, Shelter (for a really great acoustic version of this song, check out Sandra's myspace page!), and Chattanooga. Her songs have such profound insight, and her voice, with an almost brittle beauty, just destroys me.

I can't say enough good things!