Shine

Mary Black

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 18, 1997)
• Original Release Date: March 18, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Curb Records
• ASIN: B000000DI0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #241,538 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Mary Black's first seven solo albums were all recorded in Ireland, with producer Declan Sinnott crafting a fine balance between Celtic folk music and international pop--and every one of them climbed to the top of the Irish charts. It was a successful formula but it was becoming a bit predictable, so Black decided to cut her eighth album, Shine, in Los Angeles with Joni Mitchell's longtime collaborator Larry Klein as producer. As might be expected, there are fewer Irish folk flavors in the music and more L.A. singer-songwriter influences. The results, though, don't resemble Mitchell's cutting-edge folk-jazz so much as Linda Ronstadt's adult-contemporary pop.

Black remains a special singer; her husky mezzo manages to be intimate and powerful at the same time. She's not a songwriter, however, so she's utterly dependent on her material. Unfortunately, Shine is dominated by the sort of melodramatic melodies and sentimental lyrics that might have been intended for Celine Dion. Black isn't guilty of Dion's over-the-top bombast, but Black can't inject much subtlety into simple-minded songs that urge us to "Shine" and enlighten us that "Nobody Lives Without Love." It's only when Black returns to the work of such proven songwriters as Richard Thompson ("I Misunderstood") and Paul Brady ("I Will Be There") that she reminds us what a dramatic interpreter she can be. --Geoffrey Himes

Product Description
Japanese Release of Mary Black's New Album, featuring an Exclusive Bonus Track. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pop/Rock with Unusually Good Vocals, January 30, 2003

By	bethtexas (United States) - See all my reviews

Mary Black has a wonderful voice for pop/rock music. Her ballads and traditional folk may be more famous, and you wouldn't want to be a Mary Black fan without owning the sorts of titles for which she's more famous (BY THE TIME IT GETS DARK, for example) .... but SHINE shows that she's every bit as talented at pop/rock as she is at Irish ballad.

What people love about this singer is that she has some real volume to her voice, but at the same time, she manages to have the expressiveness normally associated with softer voices. You can feel every line she sings despite the impressive "umph".

I love the song MISUNDERSTOOD. I love it because even though it's a pop number - which means you can easily sing along, and believe me, it's catchy enough that you'll be tempted - she never sings a line as though she can't hear the words. Do you know what I'm talking about? Some singers hit the notes beautifully, but you feel like they could be saying ANYTHING because their voices focus on the melodies, not the words. Mary Black never seems to do that. She's singing a pop song, which means she can't linger too long on any one note, she has to keep moving to keep the catchy melody going. But every line comes out with awareness of the lyrics. This song is great. The line "I thought he was saying 'good luck', but he was saying 'goodbye'." would be boring in a lot of people's throats. But with her direct expressiveness, you can feel the hurt of his rejection. And what a catchy beat!

I also like the fact that isntrumentation on this album NEVER overpowers her lyrics and song. That's a trend that bothers me in pop music. I hate it when I can't hear the lyrics because the singer's too caught up in showing off the voice or when I can't hear the lyrics because they've been synethisized and distorted to death or the electronic instrumentation drowns them out. None of that happens here. Coming from a folk tradition, Black probably appreciates the importance of words to a song. Nothing overpowers or dries out her clear vocals.

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention: I can't remember the title, but the song on this album that sings, "She don't like the late night radio" is one of my favorite pop songs. Again - between the beat and her clean, rocking delivery, it's just a great song.

Mary Black fans should be warned that she's trying something different here from usual. But I can't see objecting to it when she does it this well! I love this album.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A big disappointment, June 6, 2002

By A Customer

I am an avid Mary Black fan, but I have to say that this one was a big disappointment. Not only is Declan Sinnott conspicuous by his abscence, but the percussion here is way too overbearing. It doesn't fit with the subtlety and beauty of Mary's lilting voice, no matter what kind of song she is delivering. Apparently producer Larry Klein isn't aware of that. Definitely not up to par with her other work.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mary Goes pop?, May 8, 2000

By	P. Bedo (Granville, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Yes, Mary does pop too. But there are a couple of good songs here, perhaps three. The best for me is between "Nobody lives without love" and "Beautiful" but I'd agree that there is a tendency toward the melodramatic in these and other songs of this album. And perhaps Mary hasn't heard that other song "You've got a friend" by J.Taylor (or was it C.King?) or even S & G's "Bridge over troubled waters" before she decided to do P.Brady's "I will be there" cause maybe she wouldn't have bothered. And when the album reaches "Late night radio" I just reach for the Stop button. But then again I must be getting old.