MOLLIE O'OBRIEN
Things I Gave Away
(Sugar Hill/Elite)
The highest compliment I can pay Mollie O'Brien's CD is that immediately after I had finished playing it I wanted to replay it. Yes it is that good! This young lady I would term a cross (at times) between Emmylou Harris and Anne Murray. Her choice of material blew me away and I know there isn't any type of song Mollie can't handle. It was a pity that the listener had to wait till track 9 to see if Mollie could handle an up-beat tempo number, and she did with the same clarity and effortless style she enthuses into all the other songs. 'The Right Thing' proves this beyond any doubt, and I would have placed this track midway on the disc to feature her versatility earlier in the piece.
Mollie O'Brien can really sing the blues; her range and diction, plus her phrasing makes her the consummate artist. The production team and sound technicians are to be congratulated on such an excellent all round production
Mollies vocal range on 'River's Invitation' and 'When I'm Gone' absolutely blew me away. Bravely presented 'Throw It Away' takes me back to Peggy Lee's 'Fever'. 'Throw It Away' demonstrates a complete marriage between vocalist and musician; and I'll stick my neck out and say that this is artistically and musically far cleverer than 'Fever' as it is by far a lot more difficult piece of music to arrange, the vocals and bass playing are absolutely superb, excellent co-ordination, and full marks indeed.
'The Right Thing' as I've said before uplifts and is a highlight, and finally 'When I've Got The Moon' is a very beautiful closing song to an all round excellent presentation.
Backing musicians handled these sometimes difficult arrangements very professionally and it was refreshing to hear them intersperse acoustic and electronic instruments to very good effect, an outstanding presentation.I predict we are going to be hearing a lot more of Mollie O'Brien, and I for one hope so. Criticism: Sugar Hill Records could have detailed more information on Mollies talent somewhere on the cover of Things I Gave Away, as it certainly deserves to be listed. Marks 9 out of 10.
A.E.J.(Lex) Sinclair.
Ed Note: Mollie and her brother Tim have been a singing couple for many years now and as far as I know this is Mollie's second solo outing. I've included a link to her web-page which you will see by clicking on the album thumbnail below.
Click on album image to see larger album cover