Published on Jun 10, 1998
Laurie Lewis is definitely the female Townes Van Zandt.
Her country folk, almost bluegrass at times, sound, combined
with the ability to tell a story like no other songwriter since the
likes of Jim Croce, demonstrate that this woman might be one of
folk’s best kept secrets. Her latest release,
Seeing Things, is further proof of this.
With the assistance of Darol Anger on violin and strings, Lewis
utilizes her skills as a singer, guitarist and violinist (oh, did I
mention songwriting?) to paint pictures of people and situations
that we all can relate to.
At times, Lewis delves into some beautiful pop/folk not unlike
October Project (“Visualize”), creating songs that send chills up
my spine every time I hear it. At other times, Lewis weaves words
so strong that you can’t help feel the joy or pain that they’re
meant to represent. It’s incredibly hard for me to get through the
final track “The Blackest Crow”. Hell, I have difficulty just
reading the lyrics in the liner notes: “The time has come, my
dearest dear / for you and I to part / How little do you know of
the grief and woe / in my poor aching heart.” Ka-pow. A similar
tale is told on “Let The Bird Go Free,” which is only a little
weaker, but not by much.
Lewis’s subject matters on
Seeing Things often are very serious. “Manzanar” looks at
the life of a Japanese-American who was sent to a detention camp
during World War II, while “Angel On His Shoulder” tells the tale
of a man who doesn’t realize his good fortune until he is involved
in a terrible car crash. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself
reaching for the Kleenex at times – this is a very powerful disc to
listen to.
But Lewis also shows she knows how to laugh, as shown on the
song “Kiss Me Before I Die”. It is a slightly irreverent, certainly
off-beat look at experiencing the ecstacy of passion (and I’m not
speaking about sexual) before leaving this vale of tears. It also
addresses not living your life with the question “What if?”.
Surprisingly, the moments that Lewis goes for a
country/bluegrass feel are where
Seeing Things falls apart. If you just listened to the
opening track “Blue Days, Sleepless Nights,” and assumed the rest
of the disc was in that style, you would have missed out on some
incredible music.
Seeing Things is a difficult disc to get though, especially
if you’re dealing with some of the issues that Lewis writes and
sings about. However, the disc serves as a wonderful catharsis, and
is more than enough to cement Lewis’s future as one of this
country’s best story-telling singers. (And, with the loss of Jim
Croce, Harry Chapin, John Denver and Townes Van Zandt, we need all
we can get.)