I don’t know what to think of Heather Miller’s debut release
\nSend Me An Angel<\/i>.<\/p>\n
On the one hand, her voice is pleasing and she sings with plenty
\nof passion. On the other hand, there’s a fair bit of “next big
\nthing” pretension around her – she’s pictured liberally throughout
\nthe booklet with one guitar or another, but there’s no evidence she
\neven plays in the disc credits.<\/p>\n
She writes a lot of her own material, but she does so with big
\nname song writers like producers Michael Tait (dcTalk) and former
\nGrammatrain lead singer Pete Stewart, and song doctor John
\nMandeville.<\/p>\n
She’s a little bit Dolly Parton and a whole lot Crystal Lewis,
\n(“I’m a little bit country. I’m a little bit rock and roll.” Whoa.
\nBad flashback there for a minute.) with just a dab of Russ Taff
\nthrown in for good measure.<\/p>\n
She’s a potent mix of blue-eyed soul, acoustic driven pop,
\nR&B, and rock and roll – but from time to time it all sounds
\nmore like a contrived mix. And that’s what leaves me a little
\nunsettled about the disc.<\/p>\n
It is imminently satisfying aurally and lyrically so I’m going
\nto have to work with what I hear, rather than what I feel. It’s
\ntime to pull out the benefit of the doubt. I think Miller is a
\nrising talent, but it’s likely she’s being “handled” a little too
\nmuch, know what I mean?<\/p>\n
The three-song start off to this disc, “Angel,” “We Will See
\nHim,” and “Life To Me,” is as good a beginning one could ask for.
\nIn the opening rocker, Miller sings about feeling surrounded by
\nGod’s care in the provision of angels at just the times in her life
\nwhen she needs them:<\/p>\n
Oh, it’s the tide that soothes my soul Oh, when the
\nwaves have lost control Oh, it’s the light that leads me home Right
\nwhen I need You too Send me an angel.<\/p>\n
Next comes the radio hit, “We Will See Him,” which is praise and
\nworship music with a killer beat and a seriously melodic hook. This
\nsong is the aural equivalent of oatmeal – it tastes good and sticks
\nwith you.<\/p>\n
But, then comes the highlight of the disc, “Life To Me,” the
\nfirst ballad. This song shines and shimmers with emotion. Written
\nwith Mandeville, “Life…” tells the story of a seeker who’s
\nfinally found what she’s been looking for — and the feeling of
\nassurance that provides:<\/p>\n
\nSpent all my life trying to find the truth that’s in Your
\neyes<\/i>
\nHere at last, no turning back. I’m safe in Your arms.<\/i>
\nYou opened the Heavens and set me free.<\/i>
\nYour love is life to me, you’re all my heart desires.<\/i>
\nYou’re more than I’ve ever dreamed. You set this soul on
\nfire.<\/i><\/p>\n
Miller sings with such sincerity, that it’s easy to be drawn
\ninto the songs she’s singing — the stories she’s telling — the
\ntestimony she’s giving.<\/p>\n
With more than adequate help from Tait and Stewart (background
\nvocals and instrumental support throughout in addition to producing
\nchores), Miller makes the best use of her new friends –
\nparticularly on the almost note-for-note remake of Danny Tate and
\nDanny Wilde’s “Winds of Change” from Russ Taff’s 1989 album
\nThe Way Home<\/i> and, incidentally, his 1995 country disc,
\nWinds Of Change<\/i>. Miller takes what is already a great song,
\nand with a little – no, make that a lot – of help from her friends
\nalmost makes it her own declaration.<\/p>\n
While she’s a spot-on match for the song vocally (as are Tait
\nand Stewart in “featured” vocal appearances), Miller seems just a
\ntad young to be singing something so blatantly mature:<\/p>\n
\nThe hands of time go round and round.<\/i>
\nThey don’t slow down when you lose your way.<\/i>
\nAt every turn, the things you learn,<\/i>
\nYou wear them proud like you wear your name.<\/i>
\nAnd as you go on down that road,<\/i>
\nDon’t let the dust get in your eyes.<\/i>
\nIt blows in the winds of change.<\/i><\/p>\n
That’s all true, and Russ Taff certainly knew that when he
\nrecorded it in 1989, but Miller’s publicity materials indicate
\nshe’s two years out of college and I’m guessing that puts her right
\naround 24, maybe.<\/p>\n
I remember thinking I had all that experience when I was her age
\ntoo – but I was wrong. The only hands of time that I’d seen go
\nround and round were the ones on my Timex – and I suspect the same
\nof Miller. It’s one of those “contrived” moments, but she sure
\nsounds great.<\/p>\n
Miller’s disc shows a lot of promise. I do find myself listening
\nto it frequently. But, I also find myself wondering what the next
\none will be like.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":25467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6361],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-36673","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-heather-miller","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36673"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=36673"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=36673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}