4.0 out of 5 stars
This is "must have" album!!!, May 14, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Madmen & Lovers (Audio CD)
An elite vanguard of female singer/songwriters have dominated the few adult/alternative airways left unsuccumbed to top 40 playlist domination. Recently Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos and Paula Cole have been joined by Natalie Merchant, Jonatha Brook and Beth Orton.
Now a new name, Barbara McDonald is set to join their ranks. Her debut album "Madmen & Lovers" firmly lays down the challenge to her predecessors. Not for Barbara, are the overly serious, whiny, and often too self indulgent lyrics of some of her more fashionable peers.
These songs are a celebration of life, love and yes, even death. Against a backdrop of modern phenomena such as cyberspace, Barbara, with her co-writer and producer John Perkins, has managed to weave in the romance and classicism of Shakespeare, with definite Beatles and Joni Mitchell influences. She manages to maintain her poetic integrity in the face of modern musical demands.
The mix on some tracks, while quirky, shows an imaginative and thoughtful wish on the part of these artistes to break rules and be different. Even dangerous enough, for modern tastes while maintaining an overall classic pop quality. In my view they have succeeded.
These songs have a definite "feel good" factor, and since arriving in my possesssion, the CD has hardly left my player. It's great to work to and even at 68 mins (which normally would be considered too long) the hour whizzes by in the company of Barbara McDonald.
With all the best qualities of the aforementioned vanguard, "Madmen & Lovers" has something extra. This is no dreary thirty-something singer/songwriter full of angst. Barbara is 42, married with children and with all that being a mom entails, it makes this positive, sensuous, and passionate set of songs all the more unexpected.
If this is the only money you spend on music before the millennium, and you love good music and wonderful lyrics, to buy this album is the best investment you can make. This is a must have album. - Dave Robbins
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