Words Came Back to Me

Sonya Kitchell | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 4, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Velour Music Group
• ASIN: B0009VAALO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,101 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Based on her age--the Massachusetts musician turned 17 in 2006--the casual observer could be forgiven for expecting Sonya Kitchell to sound something like Brit wunderkind Joss Stone. While both women possess instruments considerably older than their years would indicate, Kitchell draws greater inspiration from blues- and jazz-oriented singer-songwriters like Bonnie Raitt and Norah Jones, than soul belters like Aretha Franklin. And while she takes a lower-key approach than the electrified Raitt--Words is a mostly acoustic affair, featuring Kitchell on guitar--she's likely to appeal to a similar audience, which is to say, one that's logged more time on this earth than the artist herself. "Part of me is new and part of me is old," she sings on "Tinted Glass." Although Kitchell performs the occasional cover live (mostly jazz standards), she penned every one of these 12 tracks herself: the average artist twice her age can't claim as much. Better yet, there isn't a bad one in the bunch, though the titles can be pretty pedestrian ("Words," "Think of You," etc.). But it's the wistful songs, the supple voice, and the swinging instrumental passages that count, especially on "Let Me Go," the soulful, scat-bedecked CD opener. A crack backing band--with Miro Sprague on piano and Hammond B-3 organ a particular standout--helps to make Words Came Back to Me one of the year's most noteworthy debuts. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product Description

Hailed by the LA Times as a "fascinating performer," Kitchell (just sixteen) has already built a formidable reputation both as a performer and recording artist. This collection of twelve original songs, penned by Kitchell, represents a stunning debut by a remarkable young artist, blending pop, jazz, folk and blues into a thing of soulful beauty. Sonya has been selected as the Hear Music Debut artist for 2006, which will make "Words" simultaneously available at each of the 5,500 Starbucks locations in the US and Canada.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Girl can write!, April 7, 2006

By 

MC Fiddy (Northampton, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Words Came Back to Me (Audio CD)

Avril arrived at 18 powered by the song writing juggernaut The Matrix. And Norah Jones broke thru at 21 with four songs by tunesmith Jesse Harris. And then here comes Sonya Kitchell at 17 writing all her own material. Just what does she think she is doing??

Easy: she is successfully channeling a short fast lifetime of influences as diverse as Bill Withers and Joni Mitchell; Ella Fitzgerald and Nick Drake. She is spinning beautiful narrative, emotional truth and fleshed out characters all in a smoky contralto. And then she is turning around and crushing you with effortless pop hooks. All while putting goose bumps on your arm.

Any questions?

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Watching her grow, it's worth the investment, July 2, 2006

By 

J. S. Matias - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Words Came Back to Me (Audio CD)

Being an old college friend with her drummer, I was often invited to the first appearances Sonya had in NYC, first with Kaki Khan and then on her own. You can see the progression with her lyrics, vocals, style. It's a pleasant CD, something you can put on that has that, sure, Norah Jones type style, but in fact is not Norah. Hearing someone else's take on a style is always enjoyable. Sonya is also well worth a trip to see her live. Her casualness is a great thing and the band is full of young great musicians. Sure I may be a an old friend of the drummer but the singer still has to win my approval if I'm going to keep going to the shows. I still keep going.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Young Woman with an Old Soul, July 8, 2006

By 

John C. Bergeron (Saint Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Words Came Back to Me (Audio CD)

While I and most of my friends were still learning how to parallel park at 16, Sonya Kitchell was writing and performing these stunningly beautiful songs, filled with sophistication, deep introspection and a profound understanding of the human heart: "...Life can be such a give or take/Some laugh while they're dying, some cry when they wake" (Words). Or, "Happiness has been good to me/but sorrow sets inspiration free" (Simple Melody). If this release is any indication, then Ms. Kitchell has experienced, either personally or through the lives of those close to her, decades worth of happiness and sorrow in her brief time on earth. I've listened to this record seven or eight times now, and I keep going back and forth between focusing on the music and the words; each serves the other so well. And yet, for all of the brilliance of this release, nearly everything I've read about Sonya Kitchell says that to see her and her wonderful band live is to truly appreciate her artistry. She's touring as I write this, so check her out, and if you haven't heard her yet, do yourself a huge favor and buy this cd; it's sure to be only the first of many great records from this old young woman.