Customer Reviews

Marked For Madness

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I found this album via producer Clive Nolan of Arena. I thought it might just be an okay prog-like album but I was absolutely blown away on the first listen.

An incredible, stunning voice! Brilliant composition by the singer herself. Fantastic production by Young and Nolan. Lyrics as literate as any ever penned.

I've listened to it more times than I can number, but it never grows dull. I find new and deeper facets upon each spin in the CD player.

Without a doubt one of the best CDs in my 2000+ collection.

PS: A friend of mine thinks she sounds like Kate Bush. They are somewhat similar; I mean, Kate has had an enormous influence on dozens of singers, but Michelle is Kate's equal, not only in voice, but also in those compositional elements that lifted Kate's music above most others who came after. If you're a Kate Bush fan, you will love Marked For Madness, especially considering Ms. Bush's defining silence of the past decade. Marked for Madness reminds us not only what we have missed from Kate, but also what we might have had if she had continued making music.

Listen to the lyrics, and savour the mood, the harmonies, & the voice.

How can I describe it?

The album feels as though it is the music for a theatre play or a dance story (perhaps a Lewis Carroll). In places it has the atmosphere and outpouring of emotion that you get in great film music. This is how a good musical should sound - there is plenty of depth and complexity and it repays repeated listening. It does though lack the instant catchiness of a musical (few repeated hooks and chorus phrases), and it demands your attention - without really listening you won't get drawn in to the emotion. This isn't 'background music', unless you have listened to it many times and know it well.

According to the biography on her website (see URL below) Michelle was professionally trained in classical voice at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. The album does have a classical feel, but there's a sprinkling of rock all the way through, with a few highly enjoyable guitar riffs and varied driving percussion that carries it forward. The rock and the emotion come through particularly strongly on stage - her live performances sparkle with energy and if you are lucky enough to ever see her, whether solo or as a support artist, then GO! (All the best elements of Mick Jagger's stage act and more, but a damn sight better looking ;-).

She's a talented musician and artist, and has travelled widely. Although she lives in Tennessee, she has frequently worked in Europe. She seems to do much of her recording in the UK with the Clive Nolan, and has given various concerts in Germany, including touring with Rudi Buttas who after hearing a recording of her voice invited her to support him on his solo album and tour (in Germany he's a household name, being the guitarist with PUR, the band frequently voted Germany's most successful ever group).

I'd agree with the comment in Gary Phillip's review ... Kate Bush (and perhaps Tori Amos) do sound in places like Michelle Young. The production on this album emphasises her voice (no surprise there, when it's special) so you can easily enjoy her tremendous range of styles. Wonderful stuff - highly recommended!

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