The temptation is great to dismiss this new incarnation of
\nConsidering Lily (which is itself an incarnation of the former
\nSerene & Pearl) as nothing more than a way for ForeFront
\nRecords to indulge Audio Adrenaline guitarist Bob Herdman. After
\nall, Herdman’s wife, Jeanette, is the lead vocalist and Audio A is
\none of the labels premiere acts.<\/p>\n
Plus, Jeanette has no previous recording experience – at least
\nthat the label has mentioned.<\/p>\n
So, the temptation is great – no denying it. However, to do so
\nwould mean turning a deaf ear to Jeanette’s pleasing lead vocals on<\/p>\n
The Pieces Fit<\/i>. And so, Considering Lily (minus Serene
\nAllison, Pearl Barrett’s sister, who left the group to be a
\nfull-time mother) moves onto the next stage. They do get a valuable
\nassist in the producer’s chair from former Audio A guitarist Barry
\nBlair and on bass from that group’s Will McGinniss.<\/p>\n
This is a group that deserves a listen. Jeanette Herdman and
\nBarrett co-wrote every song on the album. More so than Considering
\nLily’s previous effort,
\nThe Pieces Fit<\/i> seems an honest expression from these two
\nwomen’s hearts.
\nConsidering Lily<\/i> from 1997 tried too hard to be hip – and in
\nthe end sounded like Alanis Morrisette-lite, which was in direct
\ncompetition with another premier ForeFront artist, Rebecca St.
\nJames. The “Alanis” comparisons for St. James were unfortunate. Her
\nchange in sound was more a maturing process, than any attempt to
\ncopycat – but I digress.<\/p>\n
Considering Lily’s new album has a decidedly modern-pop accent,
\nrather than an alternative sound to it. The disc is full of pop
\nsongs that should be bubbling out of the radio speakers all summer
\nlong. To achieve that end, the duo used a lot of drum loops and
\nprogrammed keyboards. Underlying, and supporting, it all are
\nBarrett’s soothing harmonies. Her contribution to this disc cannot
\nbe minimized.<\/p>\n
The disc’s first song, and first single, “Great Expectations,”
\nis based on the promise found in 1 Corinthians 2:9: “No eye has
\nseen, no ear has heard, and no mind can conceive what God has
\nprepared for those who love Him.” Actually, it sort of reminds me
\nof Serene & Pearl’s “Crazy Stories.”<\/p>\n
“Great expectations\/There’s so much waiting for
\nme\/Anticipation\/As you reveal my destiny\/I may not know every
\nroad\/But I know positively\/Great expectations are what you have for
\nme.”<\/p>\n
The song bounces along like a convertible Volkswagen Beetle on a
\nsummer afternoon, fueled by the keyboard programming of Michael
\nQuinlan, who also produced the track. Truthfully, there’s not a
\nsong on this disc that disappoints in a major way.<\/p>\n
Oh sure, some of them have a certain amount of “school girl”
\npretentiousness in the lyrics (“Still wishing\/still dreaming\/soul
\nsearching\/for meaning” from “Waiting For The Day”) and the sound
\noccasionally comes across as too much of a mix between Debbie
\nGibson and Wilson Phillips, but, really, that’s being snooty.<\/p>\n
Not every book you read is C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity”
\nright? And you don’t really watch only PBS, do you?<\/p>\n
This disc is fun. It’s celebratory. It encourages. It affirms.
\nIt worships – in its own little cute way – and there’s nothing
\nwrong with that. Music is not this terribly serious endeavor that
\nyou really have to suffer to create. Sometimes it’s just pure joy
\nand you just stand back and let it flow over and through you.<\/p>\n
Enjoy
\nThe Pieces Fit<\/i>. You might as well, you’ll probably be
\nhearing the songs on the radio all summer long.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":27329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7263],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-38694","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-considering-lily","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38694","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=38694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38694"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}