Amen by Paula Cole (1999)

✅ This product is in New/Sealed Condition.

Amazon.com Paula Cole's third release is a lesson in sticking to what you know. A trained jazz vocalist, Cole uses this studied vocal styling with great affect. Never overusing her vibrato, she breathes a unique and emotional character into each song with a well-placed whisper, unexpectedly powerful crescendo, or a desperate, aching wail. One moment she portrays a freestyling beat-poet rapper ("Rhythm of Life"), the next a tragically downtrodden blues mamma ("La Tonya"). She also knows how to produce a song. On "Free," sitar uncoils behind a scrim of dark ethereal notions. The title track has bright acoustic-guitar melodies dancing on shimmering synths that resonate like the rim of a crystal water glass caressed by a wet fingertip. Throughout, she builds a foundation of sprawling, blooming musicality adapted from her preceptor Peter Gabriel. But lyrically, Cole slips into her bad habit of harping on the obvious. On "Amen" a DJ's scratch flips a switch in the middle of the song where Cole begins spouting a list of notorious characters in need of repentance, citing Saddam Hussein, Jack Kevorkian, O.J. Simpson, and all Reagan-era republicans. Exhibiting a Jewel-esque naiveté on "Be Somebody," she advises, "In the face of totality, show the other cheek." The lyrics are trite, but after a few listens, they're a minor distraction from the mighty-fine body of music contained in this release. Amen to that. --Beth Massa Product Description Finally (!) Paula Cole's 1st album since '96s double platinum This Fire (with the smashes "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone," "I Don't Want to Wait" and "Me") and her latest since her Best New Artist Grammy award. On her sophomore effort, Paula's soaring voice and passion-filled lyrics remain. But, now under the Paula Cole Band moniker, the set sports a heightened contemporary sound, aided by contributions from TLC's T-boz and rapper DJ Premier. Fresh and remarkable. Amen. 1st single/video: "I Believe in Love." [Note: This product is an authorized CD-R and is manufactured on demand]
ASIN: B00001P4OQ
VSKU: COV.B00001P4OQ.N
Condition: New
Author:Array
Binding: Audio CD