Customer Reviews

Speaking With the Angel

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Mary Black continues to prove that a truly gifted singer can put her special mark on a wide variety of music. While I love Mary's traditional Irish pieces of the early years, I am equally thrilled with the more contemporary music she's recorded more recently. Whether singing the energetic "Message of Love" or the poignant "Moments" she is, as always, one of the best female vocalists in the world. Her clear-as-a-bell voice and flawless interpretation is one of Ireland's greatest national treasures.

Her staying power as an artist is in her choice of diverse songs, many by contemporary Irish artists, that keep her sound ever-fresh and exciting. The old Irish tunes on her early albums are great (as is "Bless the Road" on this one) but she would be doing a disservice to the tremendous songwriting talent in Ireland today if she stayed stuck in the past.

I waited to buy this CD because I was deterred by a couple of less-than-complimentary reviews on this website. One day I decided to give it a chance and I'm glad I did. This is a beautiful album which I listen to over and over. I can't wait for her next one!

As lovely as Mary Black's voice is, many of her albums are marred by bad choices of material and overproduction. "Speaking with the Angel" is, unfortunately, not an exception.

The best songs on the album are the first two--"Turning Away" and "Cut by Wire." "Don't Say Okay" is energetic and catchy, but Black's voice is mired in a soup of instruments, including some rather annoying harmonica. "Fields of Gold," the bonus track on the CD, is alright, but only alright--it is too slow, and the harmonica on it, also, is overdone. "I Live Not Where I Love" is nice enough, but it suffers from the same overproduction problems that plague the rest of the songs on this CD.

"Bless This Road" and "Broken Wings" could have been much, much better with different arrangements; as it is, the keyboards are way too prominent and make otherwise good songs sound syrupy. I found myself longing for the acoustic-oriented sound of "No Frontiers" very quickly.

"Fall at Your Feet" is interesting, but it just doesn't fit very well on this album, and the overdone production doesn't help.

Some of the songs are not so much bad as uninteresting--"Bless the Road," "Moments," and "Speaking with the Angel." "Big Trip to Portland" is dreadful, however, and "Message of Love" is downright embarassing in its sappy, spunky cuteness--take a hint, Mary: Sheena Easton's career is dead for a *reason*.

I'm not sure if it is simply a matter of the production or mixing on this CD, but it sounds as if Black is losing some of the power of her voice. On "Message of Love" she sounds as if she were completely out of breath. Much of the time, however, she is simply swamped by the bloated production. Maybe someday we will get an entire good album from Mary Black--it's not too much to hope (I hope). "Speaking with the Angel," unfortunately, isn't it.

On her 9th album "Speaking With The Angel" Mary has gone back to her roots: it is more accoustic then the previous album "Shine". The album contains incredible beautifull songs, like the title track by Ron Sexsmith "Speaking With The Angels", "Moments", "Cut By Wire" and a great cover of "Fields of Golds". Besides these more slow-pased songs, the album also contains more up-tempo songs, like "Message of Love" (a great message for the new millenium) and "Big Trip To Portland". This is certainly one of her best albums, with some delicate songs performed by Mary Black as only she can do it. A must have...

Combine Mary Black's gorgeous, powerful voice with mediocre songs and adult contemporary arrangements and you get a truly BORING CD. Sure, you can sometimes hear the magic in her voice, but it's a strain to find it on this one. I'm a huge fan of Mary's early, more traditional material, and in that genre she has no peer. But on "Speaking..." she's just another middle-of-the-road singer with a nice voice and a competent band. "Turning Away" is okay, but "Don't Say Okay" is sophomoric. On "Fall at Your Feet" and "Fields of Gold" need not have been covered at all. "Bless this Road" is a modest highlight, but her rerecording of "I Live Not Where I Love", the only traditional tune here, drags under its own slowed-down rearrangement. Obviously "Speaking" has its fans, and if you've liked her last few albums you'll probably love this. But if you're looking for the same Mary Black that sang "Song For Ireland" and "Both Sides The Tweed", go for the older recordings or maybe the Black Family CD instead.

When I saw Mary Black live, I only knew one song of hers that two Belgian singers had covered it (A Woman's heart). I didn't know what struck me when I heard the rest of her repertoire that night. Throughout the years she has sung a great number of songs, sometimes different styles but always in an excellent way. Her latest album, Speaking with the Angel, is again excellent: a superb voice, strong lyrics (good poetry!), sung with a lot of expression and skill, and just beautiful melodies! Don't know what Cd to buy? I wouldn't hesitate any longer if I were you, you won't regret it!

Every person who's entered the room when this CD is playing wanted to get a copy of it. Once again, Mary Black has balanced her clear, beautiful voice with a variety of both mellow and upbeat songs that reach out to the heart of her listeners. I love this CD and believe it will stand as another gem in her growing repetoire of contemporary, mature releases. While this CD is more folksy than her last one, "Shine", I find it much more appealling and just very enjoyable to listen to in a variety of settings. A Winner!

I am constantly amazed by the incredible talent and musical artistry of Mary Black. Her voice is so pure that it reminds me of honey...pure, golden, smooth and flowing unhurried, caressing notes, gently sliding through phrases. I LIVE NOT WHERE I LOVE touched my heart as few songs ever have. TURNING AWAY and BROKEN WINGS, written by Dougie McLean, are interpreted with masterful simplicity. Black has bridged the gap between traditional and non-traditional Irish music with the expertise that one would expect of a woman that could very well be considered one of the greatest voices in the world today.

I picked this cd up while visiting Ireland with the expectation that it would be the type of album that I'd want to hear repeatedly. Instead it contains mostly very bland songs with very average instrumental arrangements. A disappointment coming from such a talented singer with such a marvelous voice. I believe that Ms. Black needs better material that is better suited to her capabilites. I will certainly think twice before I purchase another Mary Black cd.

I usually buy Mary Black's CDs as soon as I can get them. It was not quite the same for this CD. When I purchased her CD Shine, I was so deceived and when I read the reviews about it, I thought that I had finished buying Black CDs. So I waited very long to even consider listening to this new album. When I heard some of the songs I decided to try again. I have had the CD for no more than a week and I already know the lyrics by heart. It is a wonderful CD. Different but as beautiful as the former ones except Shine.

I just saw Mary Black perform last night (St. Patrick's Day eve) on stop one of her current U.S. tour. I also purchased her new CD at the concert, have listened to it three times today, and am completely blown away by it. The woman is amazing. She stayed after the concert (as she usually does) to sign her new CD for fans. So I'm one happy camper!

Excellent choice of music on =Speaking with the Angel= and a voice that is indescribably beautiful and expressive (how can such a big voice be in such a petite body?!). What more can you ask for in a vocalist? Live to be a hundred and one, Mary, so we'll never be without the sound of your glorious voice!