Published on May 8, 1998
When the plans for 1997’s Lilith Fair were announced, some might
have thought such a project was overambitious. Then again, some
thought the same of the now-defunct Lollapalooza. But with the help
of some of her friends, Sarah McLachlan pulled it off, creating one
of the most successful tours of the year.
Now, as the second year of Lilith Fair prepares to kick off, the
“soundtrack” to the first tour has arrived in the stores, allowing
those who attended to relive the memories and those (like myself)
who couldn’t make it to experience the magic for the first time.
And while
Lilith Fair: A Celebration Of Women In Music is a noteworthy
compendium, it suffers from the overambition that some people said
the tour would suffer from.
A two-disc set featuring a slew of artists – many I was hearing
for the first time ever, one immediate weakness comes in that these
artists only get one cut on the disc to showcase themselves. In all
honesty, I wouldn’t have minded having this set expand further than
two discs if it would have granted some of these artists a greater
showcase.
Case in point: Dayna Manning, whose moment of fame on this disc
with “I Want” is one of the brightest spots in the disc. Frankly, I
wanted to hear a lot more from this young artist – and I’m sure we
all will be in the future. Other artists who have not had the
chance to really catch on in the big time, such as Lisa Loeb
(forgetting about “Stay” for a minute), Tracy Bonham and Dar
Williams, show why they deserve their shot in the spotlight as much
as the next artist. Could I see a whole slew of live albums from
Lilith Fair performances being this good? Oh, yeah.
There are a few disappointments on this set, though. The sound
quality of The Cardigans’s “Been It” is not up to par with the rest
of the album; one wonders why this particular version was chosen.
Abra Moore has a great song in “Four Leaf Clover,” but she sounds a
bit strained and out of tune on this version. And as much as
Lilith Fair is supposed to be about diversity, I can’t say I
was particularly moved by the performances of Lhasa or Yungchen
Lhamo. (I liked the performance of Autour de Lucie, even if I have
no clue what they sang.)
If
Lilith Fair does anything, it should restore people’s faith
in some once hugely-successful artists. Both Suzanne Vega and
Susanna Hoffs make the most of their allotted time, and they turn
in some performances that blew me away. And while her star is still
rising, Meredith Brooks actually impressed me with this version of
“Wash My Hands.” (For that matter, Paula Cole won me over with this
performance of “Mississippi”.)
Of course, McLachlan gets her own say on
Lilith Fair, turning in a great rendition of “Building A
Mystery,” as well as an emotional performance of “Water Is Wide”
with the Indigo Girls and Jewel. (It should be pointed out that
half the proceeds from the sale of this album are being donated ro
RAINN and LifeBeat.)
Lilith Fair might not be the perfect substitute for not
attending the festival in the first place, but the music contained
on these 25 songs, for the most part, hits the bullseye time and
time again. If anything, let this album serve both as a musical
scrapbook and as a glorious sampler – listen to this album, then go
investigate some of these artists further.