Customer Reviews

Soak

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Rachel Farris is a truly talented artist.
Not only a wonderful singer, but also a wonderful songwriter.
She wrote all of her songs! Nobody does that anymore. AND she co-produced her album!

It rocks. Seriously. If you think Avril rocks, Avril's album can't hold a candle to Rachel's. Every song is good and there's variety. Her music is so fun to listen to and her lyrics are very deep. I've laughed and cried listening to this album.

I want to help spread the word about this album, because it's honestly that good! I believe many of these songs could be pop-rock classics if more people knew about Rachel.

What a terrific debut album for new artist Rachel Farris! I find myself listening to this CD repeatedly. Each of these original songs has its own appeal. Like, for example:

1.You Think - Defiant, no nonsense; I love the spunkiness of this song.
2. I'm not the girl - Terrific beat, music, with bold lyrics; perfect choice for 1st single!
3. Soak - life affirming, fantastic rockin' beat, the chorus is sure to stick in your head all day! Has to be the next single (after all, it's the title track). A five star song!
4. Wild - this is pure joy set to music; an awesome song about falling for a guy - it could be a single too
5. I Should Go - great ballad; ambivalent and bittersweet...It really grows on you!
6. So Good - heart wrenching emotions, expressed eloquently; you'll want to cry with her! A personal favorite of mine. (Yes, another single..I hope)
7. I Guess This Is Love - A relationship gone terribly wrong; intense, strong song, meaningful lyrics.
8. The End - great breaking up song; excellent lyrics, and irresistible tune. I would love to see this one become a single. I think it is one of the best songs on the CD - could be a surprise hit!
9. Paint The Truth - nice abstract feel; artsy and heartfelt
10. In A Field - dreamy and ethereal ballad; very visual, serene, relaxing
11. It's All You - Encouraging upbeat "Go For It" song - I like this a lot!
12. Beautiful - reflective & introspective, sincerely expressed. Well done!

Rachel has such a gift for expressing age old emotions in a fresh new way. She knows how to tell a story...I love her choices of words (especially in "The End" and "So Good") and how they convey her point with her own unique style. Her voice is so pure and refreshing and unexpectedly strong in the upbeat songs (like "Soak" and "Wild") then silky smooth and soft when she switches to a ballad ("In A Field, "Beautiful"). Such versatility on a debut album is rare, and when you factor in that she wrote every lyric and every melody, plus had a hand in producing the album, this is a truly remarkable achievement. I can't wait to see what she'll do next!

Rachel Farris is an outstanding singer/songwriter. Every song on this album is unique and refreshing in it's own way. The
songs can lift you up or bring you to tears. One thing is for sure, they are not "bubblegum" or "fake". I find myself singing these songs over and over in my head throughout the day, especially the title track "Soak" which is very uplifting and really makes you want to enjoy life to the fullest. This collection of songs is what pop/rock music has been waiting for.
I had gotten so tired of the same over-produced sounds coming from so many of today's female artists. And the image they were projecting was not what today's young teens need to use for a role model. Rachel is like a breath of fresh air in the music industry and I predict that she will be around for a long time to come and will continually impress me and others with her amazing talent.

One day I was searching through some music sites and I came upon the name Rachel Farris. I knew nothing about her so I went to her web site and downloaded a clip of her single "I'm Not the Girl". I was immediately captivated by her incredible voice. To say she is an amazing singer is such an understatement it doesn't do her justice. I ran out and bought her CD "Soak" immediately.

Soak is one of those CDs that I can just listen to over and over and over again and never get tired of it. Every song on the album is just amazing. One of the best qualities Rachel possesses is her song writing skills. Every song is like a chapter of her life that she is putting out for anyone who wants to listen. It's almost like you get to know Rachel through her lyrics and I know myself I can identify with every one of her songs.

I will give my attempt at a song by song review of Soak...

You Think: A song about a guy who thinks he can have Rachel and another woman too. "You think you can have me and have her hanging on..." is an example of the powerful lyrics Rachel writes. I am sure many women can relate to this song and a lot of guys should listen to this song and take the words to heart and not cheat on their girlfriends/wives.

I Am Not the Girl: This is a classic hit and why it's not tearing up radio and MTV and VH1 I will never know. It's pretty much the story of her life. All her life people have been trying to tell Rachel to change her style and change her into someone she is not. But Rachel has always resisted this kind of thing and this is a song about it! And oh yeah, it can be about a relationship too! "I am not the girl you thought I would be, I will never be, so get over me. I am not the girl I am going to be..." This song will get stuck in your head which is a good thing!

Soak: This is a rocking song that should also be a huge hit! It's a really catchy upbeat song that will have you singing all day.

I Should Go: This is a mid tempo song about breaking off a relationship. It's one of those songs everyone can relate to no matter how old you are. Rachel's song writing skills really shine through on this amazing song.

So Good: This is a song about the ending of a relationship. It's such an awesome song because Rachel expresses her anger at this person but also she expresses her pain she is feeling because she still has feelings for this person in the song. It's another song that showcases Rachel's incredible song writing skills and also her vocals shine in this song. It's really a powerful song that has even brought tears to my eyes at times.

I Guess This is Love: This is another slower song that is just awesome. It's about the pain of a relationship. "I guess this is love when it hurts so bad you think you'd rather die, I guess this is love when your thrown around between the lows and highs, I guess this is love when all you really want just kisses you good-bye." If that isn't lyrics anyone can relate to I don't know what is! The music and vocal skills Rachel has are so powerful they will just blow you away.

The End: The song title says it all. It's the ultimate break up song. It's a sad song but it's certainly a song that anyone can relate to. I know I sound like a broken record but again, awesome vocals and amazing song writing on this one too!

Paint the Truth: This is one of my many favorites on the album. Rachel wants to know the truth! Rachel is truly an artist and she paints with her voice as she tells us in this song. She wants to paint the truth! My personal interpretation of this song is Rachel is talking about wanting to write and sing about things that are personal to her and not something someone else tells her to write and sing about! This song is a hidden treasure that I really hope doesn't stay hidden!

Wild: Here is an upbeat song about finally finding love! Finally a positive song after all the sad songs! It has a really catchy beat and really sweet lyrics. This will have you singing and dancing!

In A Field: This song is a beautiful song that I can just visualize in my head. I visualize a warm summer day with a beautiful field filled with flowers and children playing. It's also about relationships too. This is another positive "relationship" song. It's almost as Rachel is reminiscing of the early days of a relationship and it's just a sweet song that showcases all her many talents.

It's All You: Another favorite of mine! It's an upbeat song that tells you to have fun and let out the kid! This is one song that everyone should listen to and take to heart! It's a fun song and I predict this could be a huge hit! "It's all you, and only you can have it!"

Beautiful: This is the perfect song to end this amazing album. This is a very powerful, emotional song. Again, Rachel's vocals and song writing skills are just brilliant.

Soak is by far my favorite album of 2003 and if you buy this album yourself I am sure you will soon say the same thing! So please buy this album and help this hidden gem come out of hiding and become a household name!! I know I want to hear more from Rachel Farris and you will too when you hear this album!

This is hands down the best female disc I have found in years. She has a great voice, maybe a little young sounding for the harder songs, but still great. The lyrics aren't the best ever, but they aren't bad either. It's obvious when listening to her singing that they mean something to her, she sings with real feeling for the songs. She wrote all words and music, which always makes the disc better to me, they know exactly what they were feeling when writing the songs and so know how the songs should feel when recorded. The disc is not like the rest of the female music that has been flooding the market lately, way overproduced bubblegum music. The production on this is excellent, she herself taking part in it, and the songs actually rock. A good mix of rockers and slower songs, every song on the disc is good. Can't understand why the truly good discs go unnoticed while the lousy ones sell huge, this should have sold millions. Sure glad I stumbled across this while trying to find some new music one day, a must have CD. If you want something different from what else is out there, this is it. Different is good in this case. Hopefully we will hear much more from her in the future. I've heard people saying she was dropped by her label but according to Rachel herself as of March 15 she is still happily with Big 3 Records and writing songs for a new CD. Let's hope we hear from her again soon.

I have praised this CD in reviews, Listmanias, and So You'd Like To Guides. In fact, I think I've praised it too much! However, I believe that this CD is one of 2003's best, and I recommend it to everybody. The very first song on this CD, "You Think", is about how a guy thinks that he can have both Rachel and another woman and nobody would care about it. This is a great song to get introduced to Rachel. Song number two, "I'm Not the Girl", is about what people thought about Rachel and then realized that she was different than that, and she tells them to "Get over me." This is another good introductory song; however, the first two songs are misleading to what the rest of the CD is like. Song number three, "Soak", is still peppy, however more upbeat than the songs before it. It's about enjoying life whle it's happening, and just "soaking it in." Song number four, "I Should Go", is a good song, but it's hard to describe. I'll just say that I recommend listening to it. Song number five, "So Good", is a ballad, possibly the best one on here. While not all the lyrics make sense, (Rachel keeps mentioning something about a guy's sweater) the song is simply beautiful and emotional. I believe that Rachel even cried a little at one point. Song number six, "I Guess This is Love", is a song about how real love hurts. What's really cool is that Rachel's voice gets relatively low in this song. Song number seven, "The End", is another ballad about a relationship gone bad, so Rachel tells the guy that's it's really over. Be warned, this song is kind of sad. Song number eight, "Paint the Truth", is the only song on this CD I dislike. However, I found out that it's Rachel's "abstract" song, so I give her credit for writing it. Song number nine, "Wild", is a peppy, "Soak"-esqu song about how Rachel found a great guy. Some of the lyrics aren't the greatest, but listeners of this song can feel Rachel's joy. Song number ten, "In a Field", is another ballad, wtih beautiful lyrics, beautiful music, and beautiful singing. It's about Rachel and her boyfriend ina field, and all this stuff is happening. This song is simply beautiful. Song eleven, "It's All You", is another peppy, "Soak"-esque song. This one is about enjoying life (same as "Soak") and staying young. And the very last song, "Beautiful", is just that, beautiful. This ballad is about Rachel wanting to be considered beautiful, and how the media portrays beauty, and how her boyfriend already thinks she's beautiful. Eleven good songs out of tweleve isn't too bad; it's actually impressive in my book! However, even though Rachel has so much talent with singing and song writing, she's still painfully underrated. Buy this CD and support a talented, underrated singer!

Rachel Farris is awesome! The fact that she writes EVERY single one of the songs shows true talent! She also plays keyboards and has an excellent voice. Unlike most albums that you buy for the single and don't like any of the other songs, this album is the opposite! Every single song is unique and wonderful. Some ballads, some Rock and some Pop. I would highly recommend this one for sure!!! Excellent! Also, go see her in concert-she rocks!!

"Soak" is a mixture of slow, thoughtful ballads and quick, upbeat pop/rock songs. There are a few tracks on the CD that I've found myself consistently skipping, but overall it's a good first album. Rachel has a beautiful childlike voice (although sometimes too childlike). If you're in the mood for something fun and pop, pick it up.

This is a good cd. If you could imagine Britney Spears singing Michelle Branchs songs that is pretty much who she would be similar to. I don't have this cd yet, but I have listened to it several times and have greatly enjoyed it. I'm planning on buying it very soon.

I saw her in Los Angeles, and she's amazing. Not only can she sing, but she truly feels what she's singing about. When she sang, "So Good," she cried. You could hear it in her voice that she was truly feeling the pain of the break-up. The difference between a good singer and a great one is whether or not they feel the content of the song. She does. I had the pleasure of meeting her afterwards when I asked for her autograph, and I must say, she's a sweetie. She is truly one of the nicest and most talented women you could ever meet. SOAK is well worth the money.