Customer Reviews

Stained Glass Window

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

 

 

This CD is a wonderful collection of songs written by Mila herself. The songs are beautiful!!

This album has been long awaited and totally worth the wait. Mila is not only an incredible artist but a gifted writer. There isn't a single track that doesn't blow you away and show off Mila's voice. The duet written and performed with her husband, Jason Grainger, is DEFINITELY a hit along with the the title track, Stained Glass Window!! This album is undeniably her best!! Way to go Mila!!

Having enjoyed Ms. Mason's first two releases, this new release after about 5 years is a big dissapointment.....no tracks have the energy and depth of songs such as DARK HORSE, STRONG ONE, ONE THING LED TO ANOTHER......I have listened to this cd a couple of times through since purchasing it and now it is best used a coaster.....hate to say it=( I hope she does better next time.

I was really surprised when I saw "Stained Glass Window" on the shelves of my local record store. I thought that Mila Mason was one of the many promising artists whose career successes would never quite match her talent. Hopefully I'm wrong about that. Mason has a unique voice that's part Chely Wright twang and part Tanya Tucker with sort of a smokey tone all her own, so she doesn't really sound like anything on the radio right now.

This CD has sterling production, and most of the songs are very well written. For someone who didn't write any of the songs on her first two albums, Mason has remarkable depth and grace as a songwriter. Not every song is a winner...the first two songs get the album off to an average start before the really good songs kick in, but from track 3 on, this cd is very good.

The songs run the gamut from ballads to straight ahead country and even a few Shania Twain style pop songs. "Stained Glass Window" is a great, sensitive country ballad very much in the Martina McBride message song sort of vein. "Love Anymore" is very much in the happy, poppy Shania Twain vein. "Somebody Must Love Me" is a great duet with Jason Grainger, a guy I've never heard of, but he's a very good vocalist, and I'd probably buy his CD on the strength of this one performance. "Loveazy" is a goofy uptempo song with a great vocal performance.

Aside from her fine songwriting chops, Mason's voice is in excellent form. Her style is very subdued, letting the songs and the music carry the day, but her unique voice unifies the mood of the album. When she gets playful, like in "Loveazy," you get another side of her voice that's joyous and fun. That said, the first few times I listened to the CD I kept waiting for Mason to cut loose like she did on her CD "The Strong One." When she chooses to belt out a song, she can really be commanding, but the focus on this album is more on intimacy. It's like having a heartfelt conversation with a friend instead of sitting in an audience being pelted with music notes.

I really like this cd and gave it four stars only because of the weak start of the album. I'm amazed at Mason's songwriting chops, and this CD blows away her two albums for Atlantic. (That said, those CDs do have some amazing cuts on them, like "Dark Horse" and "Blood Simple", and if you want to hear another side of Mason's unique voice, you should try the song "The Strong One". If you like "Stained Glass Window", definitely pick up the first two!)

I was so pleased to hear the latest offering from Mila. The album contains some of Mila's best work ever and she co-wrote all the songs. She has truly come of age as a writer and continues to dazzle with her sultry and intensely personal vocal performances. She has opened her heart and a window to her life to her fans. Great to have you back Mila!!!!!!!!