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| 2002 | SOFT POP ROCK | ACOUSTIC |
Track Listing
1. The Tower ✔
2. Momentum
3. Gravity
4. Daughter
5. Between ✔
6. Say Uncle
7. Drought ✔
8. Enough To Go By
9. Unwritten Letter No. 1
10. Eric's Song ✔
11. Soon Love Soon
12. Lullabye For A Stormy Night
13. Decade And One
11. Soon Love Soon
12. Lullabye For A Stormy Night
13. Decade And One
✔ indicates track pick
Rating
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Review
Before I started this review I had to type out the track listing, upload the album cover, then choose what I thought were the track picks from the album. And I must say; never have I been faced with such a challenge. Even when I went back and listened to the album again from start to finish, it was a still a struggle to narrow it down to four, as this is such a brilliant album. Debut albums are a special thing; for everyone has a handful of good song ideas within them; and it's the first album where many of these surface. And this is one album overflowing with them. It's such a hard sound to describe, but so simple at the same time. Soft piano pop is probably the most appropriate terms to apply to it, but this isn't a just another Vanessa Carlton, it's more along the lines of Sarah McLachlan and even Enya dare I say it; with elements of chamber pop and even folk music thrown in. It's so much more gentle than most piano driven albums of a similar nature, so much less predictable and sounds much more suited to the world of film and television than the likes of modern pop radio.
Although Teng has gorgeous voice, it's very much her touchingly beautiful piano playing that drives this album. It's kept simple at all the time; most of the songs just feature gentle shuffling drums and sweeping piano melodies with lush strings to add to the texture. First song on the album 'The Tower' is the song for the radio if there had to be one. A catchy drum beat and piano riff kick off the song, which builds into the verse where we get the first taste of Teng's voice. Things get a bit more lively in the chorus with guitars thrown in, but it feels like it's meant to be there. That's another positive aspect of this album; it's got that real under produced sound, and it's such a raw album in that sense. It's just the music straight to your ears as played by the musicians, with no fancy effects thrown in. 'Momentum' and 'Daughter' are prime examples of this; it's just Teng and her piano. Her vocal dynamics keep things varied here; switching from a gentle whisper into soaring high hamornies. It's very much music to loose yourself in.
'Between' and 'Drought' also deserve a mention; as they are two beautiful piano driven ballads. 'Between' features acoustic guitars and tribal sounding drums, then progresses into a soaring chorus, which uses the same four chords that songwriters have been using for decades. However her warm harmonies and graceful piano work keep this formula from sounding repetive and dull; it's almost as if she pioneered it. 'Drought' is a song with a driving rhythm which fades in with a piano riff as memorable as it is haunting. It's a song for thought, that will tug at your heartstrings and bring a grown man to tears; listening to this the first time I felt like I was being serenaded by angels. Just when you've thought you've heard everything, along comes, "Enough To Go By" which is an upbeat country pop song. The album closes on a gentle note, with four delicate piano lullabies that will soothe you to sleep even when extreme insomnia strike. "Eric's Song" really stands out with heartfelt lyrics and soft vocal work; its easy to see why this is a fan favorite.
It's experiments within her genre that makes this an album that you can listen to continuously on repeat without ever tiring of it. Vienna Teng (born Cynthia Yih Shih) has a gift on the piano and on this album she's crafted thirteen stunning compositions that are guarenteed to leave you breathless. It's never going to make it to the radio for many reasons; too soft, too sad, too under produced and just too damn musically talented. However it's fairly safe to say that if falling in love had a soundtrack, with all the moments of sorrow and joy, happiness and sadness, tears and laughter, that this spectacular album would be it.
Before I started this review I had to type out the track listing, upload the album cover, then choose what I thought were the track picks from the album. And I must say; never have I been faced with such a challenge. Even when I went back and listened to the album again from start to finish, it was a still a struggle to narrow it down to four, as this is such a brilliant album. Debut albums are a special thing; for everyone has a handful of good song ideas within them; and it's the first album where many of these surface. And this is one album overflowing with them. It's such a hard sound to describe, but so simple at the same time. Soft piano pop is probably the most appropriate terms to apply to it, but this isn't a just another Vanessa Carlton, it's more along the lines of Sarah McLachlan and even Enya dare I say it; with elements of chamber pop and even folk music thrown in. It's so much more gentle than most piano driven albums of a similar nature, so much less predictable and sounds much more suited to the world of film and television than the likes of modern pop radio.
Although Teng has gorgeous voice, it's very much her touchingly beautiful piano playing that drives this album. It's kept simple at all the time; most of the songs just feature gentle shuffling drums and sweeping piano melodies with lush strings to add to the texture. First song on the album 'The Tower' is the song for the radio if there had to be one. A catchy drum beat and piano riff kick off the song, which builds into the verse where we get the first taste of Teng's voice. Things get a bit more lively in the chorus with guitars thrown in, but it feels like it's meant to be there. That's another positive aspect of this album; it's got that real under produced sound, and it's such a raw album in that sense. It's just the music straight to your ears as played by the musicians, with no fancy effects thrown in. 'Momentum' and 'Daughter' are prime examples of this; it's just Teng and her piano. Her vocal dynamics keep things varied here; switching from a gentle whisper into soaring high hamornies. It's very much music to loose yourself in.
'Between' and 'Drought' also deserve a mention; as they are two beautiful piano driven ballads. 'Between' features acoustic guitars and tribal sounding drums, then progresses into a soaring chorus, which uses the same four chords that songwriters have been using for decades. However her warm harmonies and graceful piano work keep this formula from sounding repetive and dull; it's almost as if she pioneered it. 'Drought' is a song with a driving rhythm which fades in with a piano riff as memorable as it is haunting. It's a song for thought, that will tug at your heartstrings and bring a grown man to tears; listening to this the first time I felt like I was being serenaded by angels. Just when you've thought you've heard everything, along comes, "Enough To Go By" which is an upbeat country pop song. The album closes on a gentle note, with four delicate piano lullabies that will soothe you to sleep even when extreme insomnia strike. "Eric's Song" really stands out with heartfelt lyrics and soft vocal work; its easy to see why this is a fan favorite.
It's experiments within her genre that makes this an album that you can listen to continuously on repeat without ever tiring of it. Vienna Teng (born Cynthia Yih Shih) has a gift on the piano and on this album she's crafted thirteen stunning compositions that are guarenteed to leave you breathless. It's never going to make it to the radio for many reasons; too soft, too sad, too under produced and just too damn musically talented. However it's fairly safe to say that if falling in love had a soundtrack, with all the moments of sorrow and joy, happiness and sadness, tears and laughter, that this spectacular album would be it.
The Musicians Are...
Vienna Teng - Vocals, Piano, Keyboards
Craig Wright - Drums
David Henry - Guitar, Cello, Bass
Eric Miller - Guitar, Synthesizer, Bass
Kim & Dave - Violin
David Henry - Guitar, Cello, Bass
Eric Miller - Guitar, Synthesizer, Bass
Kim & Dave - Violin
Listen
Track 7. Drought
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