If Mama Ain't Happy

Tina deVaron | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 1, 1998)
• Original Release Date: April 1, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: IMAH Records
• ASIN: B00000IARJ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #988,162 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Tina deVaron is a huge new voice in the tiny, if burgeoning, audio market for moms. Her If Mama Ain't Happy is an 11-song bluesy, folksy, jazzy, funky, poppy opus that's the sonic equivalent of Vicki Iovine's Girlfriend's Guide series of books on pregnancy and early motherhood. Both the poignant and the pathetic are explored and interwoven with a certain wisdom and dry wit as deVaron shows off her vocal chops (which cause one to tiptoe around comparisons with the wonderful Marcia Ball). On two numbers, deVaron's piano prowess--which has earned her a full calendar on New York's bustling music scene--gets to shine as well. Most impressive about this record, though, is deVaron's songwriting; by turns it's playful and tender, provocative and unapologetically sentimental. Especially affecting are "Nothing but the Love," a mother's simple wish that her child someday remember the omnipresent, workaday variety of love bubbling under each unremarkable parent/child transaction, and "Voice in the Dark," about the magnetlike force that draws a mother and fretful child together in the night. Less touching but equally brilliant is the ode to every mother's nemesis, "Gravity," featuring the unforgettable lyric "You know the part that really gets to me is / These days ladies, when I cough, I pee / Must be gravity." All told, if Mama ain't happy, and especially if she's in need of some sympathy, deVaron is just the one to cheer her. --Tammy La Gorce

Product Description

Here for the first time is a collection of eleven rousing, rocking pop hits that zero in on Motherhood -- the guts and the glory, the laughs and the heartaches. From "The Girl You Might've Been," to "Gravity," to "My Heart Was the First You Stole," If Mama Ain't Happy is the inside story from the emotional trenches.

From rock to jazz to soulful ballads, Tina deVaron's songs soothe and jolt, capturing the sublime joys, the pain and poignancy in the day-to-day existence of a mother's life. Sold-out audiences at her concerts laugh and weep and, most importantly, recognize themselves. "You're singing about my life!" is the comment most often heard.

If you're a mom or about to become one -- or if you've ever been married to one! -- you shouldn't miss this extraordinary CD.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, sad, funny, superb., February 13, 2001

By 

Tim Cohn "Reston Runner" (Reston, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: If Mama Ain't Happy (Audio CD)

Tina DeVaron's hauntingly beautiful voice, with lyrics ranging from wistful to playful to baldly funny, explores the exquisite range of parental emotions. The result is overwhelming: brilliant, clever, tearful. Parents, and the children of parents, will love this CD.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Gift for Moms/Families!, May 8, 2000

By 

Greg Miller (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Mama Ain't Happy (Audio CD)

Tina deVaron's CD is great for Moms (and husbands too) -- the perfect gift for so many of my friends I have lost count. It's not just the way she captures what it is to be a Mom this day and age in the lyrics; the strong, catchy music which affirms the humor and love of kids (despite and because of all that involves) embodies the soul of not just Tina being a Mom, but the universal Mom. Strong, bluesy, sometimes rock-type songs just fit the moods of the different songs perfectly. Whether your friend (or you)are hitting mid-motherhood (kids entering junior high/middle school); you cannot think of the right thing for her birthday or Mother's Day or other special occasion; or you just want to let her share the intimite joys of being a Mom with the rest of the world (it is so nice to know you are not alone), this is the way to do it and keep on doing it. Thanks to Tina for capturing this neglected part of life so realistically and with such grace. It is a treasure.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Made me laugh and made me cry..., May 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: If Mama Ain't Happy (Audio CD)

Tina deVaron has a fantastic blues-y voice and a talent for writing songs that speak the truth in a (often) funny way. ANY Mom would love this CD.