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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not Sure Where Proctor Belongs, August 17, 2004
Prime Cuts: Where I Belong, If That Chair Could Talk, Didn't I
Two factors work to curry favor towards Rachel Proctor's debut effort "Where I Belong." First, the lilting touches of Chris Lindsey's (who recently produced Jimmy Wayne's stellar debut) production expertise bears its imprint on this deftly produced album-modern in its execution yet organic enough to exude a rustic feel. Second, there are a couple of effulgent gems here; I mean career defining smashes. "If That Chair Could Talk" a power ballad, recalls with great sensitivity fond memories of the past incurred through the presence of a family chair. Similar sonically and thematically to Chely Wright's "In the Back of the Bottom Drawer," "If That Chair Could Talk" is sentimental without being mawkish. Proctor does have a big, strong voice with such range, nuance and depth that has had served Martina McBride well. When she gets to her softer moments, Chely Wright and Pam Tillis come to mind. Here on "If This Chair Could Talk" Proctor puts her mellifluous vocals to best use especially in the way she starts from a whisper to a thriving climax at the middle of the song. Likewise the title cut "Where I Belong" featuring some delightful piano playing courtesy of Tim Akers, is a poignant ballad of acceptance and fulfillment that could also work on a spiritual level, something amateur writers can only dream of writing.
Other than these two baubles, "Where I Belong" is very much standard fair Nashville commodity. This is not to say that this album is bad; it's just that there's nothing incendiary or explosive or stupendous as the aforementioned tracks. Nevertheless, Proctor knows how to strike equilibrium between fast propulsive numbers and those introspective ballads. Current single "Me and Emily," the first of six Proctor co-writes, tells the tale of a woman limning the tribulations of single motherhood. Though "Me and Emily" showcases Proctor's mettle as a lyricist, melodically it's not too memorable. Popish anthemic debut single "Didn't I" driven by some propulsive guitars and booming drums, finds Proctor soaring especially during the hooky chorus. Other uptempos including the lustful "Shame on Me," the deterministic "I'm Gonna Get You Back," the defiant "We Did It Our Way," and the romantic "Days like This" continue to find Proctor kicking up her heels, stomping and having fun. They are pleasant without being earth shattering. A little more piquant is the ballad "Stronger than Oak," which chronicles a woman's journey out of a loveless marriage to a life of independence. Accompanied by some wailing steel guitar and drenched in small town imagery, "Strong than Oak" is the most country track on the album.
With Nashville's pantheon of divas and divalettes, unless Proctor's willing to stay off Nashville's conveyor belt, I don't see the tide turning for her. After radio's tepid response towards her first two singles, unless BNA Records takes the risk and release "If This Chair Could Talk" or the title cut, I don't see Proctor causing much of a ripple in this musical genre (at least not with this album).
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Overlook Rachel, December 28, 2004
With a new crop of talented female artists (finally!) making waves in the country music scene, I hope Rachel gets the credit she deserves. She is very talented and her album is really good! It took 3 singles ("Days Like This", "Didn't I" and "Me & Emily") to finally get her album released, once "Me & Emily" caught people's attention. The album kicks off with "Days Like This", a fun, uptempo, (some might say pop-ish, but that's ok with me) song that you want to crank up loud. Rachel shows some spunk and sass on "I'm Gonna Get You Back", "Shame on Me" and "If You're Gonna Leave Me" which are all pure country in sound. "If That Chair Could Talk" is a true sentimental gem, as she reflects on all the stages of her life through the eyes of a chair that has been in the house the whole time and has "seen it all".
You can hear the despair in Rachel's voice on "Didn't I", and you feel the emotion she has for the single man & woman in "So Close". The album closes with the sweet "Where I Belong" which hasn't done well on radio (as the 4th single) but maybe because it's a bit slow.
Overall I think Rachel is very talented as a singer and songwriter (she also penned Martina McBride's hit "Where Would You Be") and I hope radio starts recognizing her more!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A worthy CD, December 15, 2005
This CD in my opinion is much overlooked and underrated. It is a great CD but unfortunately it did not sell very well. I think it is not because the album wants for lack of good music, but rather because the two singles released off of it, "Days Like This" and "Me & Emily" did not reflect the album well, nor were they the best songs on the album. My personal favorite is the emotive, moving ballad "Didn't I", the fast paced "If you're gonna leave me (leave me alone)", and the slow, moving "Strong as an Oak". I think that the song "We did it our way" would have done so much better on the radio than "Days like this" and "Didn't I" is a better ballad than "Me & Emily" any day. I think "If that chair could talk" would have made a good single as well. This album could have produced at least three hit singles that were well recieved by listeners, but instead BNA made the bad decision of releasing one of the most bland, forgettable songs on the album, along with a possibly controversial, heartbreaking single that some did not care for. At any rate, while "Me & Emily is a solid single that would have done well enough it it had been followed up by something great (and there is a lot to choose from on this album, believe me!) one great single unfortunately does not typically sell enough records to keep a new artisit alive.
Even if pop legend Britney Spears (and i'm not comparing country to pop or apples to oranges here!) had released only one single or even two instead of the five hits she did release off her first album, she would be long forgotten, just another one-hit-wonder. Believe me, record companies know what they're about when they are making an album and breaking out new artists, it isn't really up to the artist whether he or she makes it big or not unless they know how to negotiate their contracts well, it's up to the record company and the quality and number of a-sides or singles they use, along with how many they decide to release. And the sad part is that they know all of this information long before the album is ever released. If they want an artist to make it, they have ways of ensuring success, as has been demonstrated with many big pop, rap, and R&B artists. This usually isn't something country music is particularly fond of doing, as country music albums generally have much better overall quality than other genres and songs that can be hits if there is a demand for the artist, although in this case I think they only made bad decisions on which singles to market. Unfortunately talent does not matter in today's commercial music mayhem! But if you're looking for talent, this is surely an album to buy.
I think it is unfortunate that someone as talented as Rachel Proctor wasn't given a fair chance in country music due to poor album marketing. She has a beautiful voice that rivals that of Martina McBride and Trisha Yearwood, with all the sincerity and emotion to convey the meaning of these songs & really pull the listener in. I hope she releases another album in the near future, though i'm not counting on it because she never met with much success with this album. Although if it had been promoted better and different songs released as singles besides the ones they used, I believe it would have been extremely popular.
Buy this album if you want to hear fresh new talent and a beautiful voice in country music and great songs. While it may not be a commercial record company's dream come true, it is a great CD.
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