Bolder Than Paradise

Bolder Than Paradise Artist: Shannon McNally
Label: Capitol
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Format: Limited Edition
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 724352730322
EAN: 0724352730322
ASIN: B00004UERX


Release Date: 2000-06-27

Bolder Than Paradise


Related Categories:

General General
Categories | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop Rock Pop Rock
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music
Adult Alternative Adult Alternative
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

  1. Down And Dirty
  2. Bitter Blue
  3. Bolder Than Paradise
  4. Love Hate
  5. Just Like Chicken
  6. 50 Ways

Similar Items:

  1. Ran on Pure Lightning
  2. North American Ghost Music
  3. Southside Sessions
  4. Jukebox Sparrows
  5. Geronimo

Amazon.com

Like Sheryl Crow or the latest incarnation of Shelby Lynne, Shannon McNally blends a dash of country, a cup of soul, and a smattering of singer-songwriter verve--a concoction that ought to please fans of the aforementioned gals. McNally's debut EP bodes well for a promising future. Her voice has a sultry swagger and it benefits here from some nifty arrangements. On the opening "Down and Dirty," for example, you can detect the scent of gritty blues-soul wafting from somewhere underneath the breezy dance track, but the combination clicks. The highlight of these six songs is "Love Hate," a quiet shuffle with both gentle pedal steel and horn-section accents. The quirky little romp "Just Like Chicken" is kind of fun, as is the groovy cover of Paul Simon's "50 Ways," though neither is about to set the world afire. Still, there's enough interesting stuff here to make one look forward to McNally's forthcoming full-length. <I>--Marc Greilsamer</I>

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A newcomer to watch out for........2001-10-22

I discovered Shannon McNally at a Stevie Nicks concert in late summer (one of the few that took place before Nicks had to postpone her tour) - wandering around the venue, I was attracted by the sound of a Fender Strat coming from a small stage, soon joined by an unusual singer's voice. The singer turned out to be McNally who, supported only by her own acoustic guitar and a friend playing the aforementioned Fender, was showcasing a few songs from her "Bolder than Paradise" EP and from her upcoming debut album "Jukebox Sparrows," due out later this year.

It's hard to describe a voice without comparing it to that of other singers (and without, thus, coining a certain image, true and welcome or not) - an entire list of rock divas to whom to compare McNally's voice would come to mind; yet, she is not just a Bonnie-Raitt-, Sheryl-Crow-, Shania-Twain- or Alanis-Morissette-sound-alike. If you've only heard her EP or seen the video for "Down and Dirty," you'd be even more surprised if you hear her perform live; in that medium (particularly with the sparse instrumentation over which I saw her perform) her voice is even more powerful ... and hearing the blues inflections that seem to be such a natural and integral part of her singing, you'd never believe she is actually from New York City!

Most of the songs on her EP and the upcoming album were written over the past couple of years (the EP also contains a funky cover of Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," though); and if "Bolder Than Paradise" is any indication of things to come, McNally had the opportunity to work with top-notch musicians - notably, Bob Glaub and Paul Bushnell on bass, Jim Keltner and James Gadson on drums and David Woodford on baritone sax in "Just Like Chicken." The songs range from the bluesy "Down and Dirty" to more straightforward rock ("Bitter Blue") and rockabilly ("Just Like Chicken"), with a few wistful (and again mostly blues-tinged) love songs thrown in for good measure ("Love Hate" and "Now That I Know," a song due to appear on "Jukebox Sparrows").

It seems that for the past couple of years it has been relatively easy for women to break into the market (none other than female slide guitar pioneer Bonnie Raitt commented not too long ago that these days this is actually easier for women than for guys); yet, many female singers still are labeled somebody else's sound-alike not long after the release of their first album, and are shoved back to the sidelines as quickly as they have initially been pushed to center stage. I hope Shannon McNally will be spared that fate. "It's a pity everybody's here just to hear Stevie Nicks," somebody in McNally's entourage (yes, she already had one; albeit a small one) commented at the show where I discovered her. And while I couldn't quite agree with that statement, I really hope that Shannon McNally will soon have many fans of her own, too - she'd most definitely deserve it.

4 out of 5 stars

Music Album:

  1. Room Temperature: Live ~ Peter Hammill
  2. Couldn't Get It Right ~ Climax Blues Band
  3. Raunio ~ Circle
  4. Gnostic Songs ~ George Elliott
  5. Halo ~ Current 93
  6. The Best of the Polecats ~ The Polecats
  7. Mi Media Naranja ~ Labradford
  8. Really Saying Something ~ Fun Boy Three
  9. Fire Department ~ be your own PET
  10. It Came from Memphis ~ Various Artists

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Trio '64 ~ Bill Evans

Indigo Blue ~ Hank Crawford

Milestones ~ Miles Davis

Riverside Blues ~ King Oliver

Infinite Love ~ Mira Veda

In Stockholm (1959) ~ Sonny Rollins

Der Wolf Und Die Sieben Geisslein ~ Various Artists

Passionnement ~ Alain Et Sweet People Morisod

Master of the Indian Flutes ~ Jo%C3%ABl Perri

Mahono Kiiroi Kutsu ~ Tulip