Easy going, laid back CD that continues to reward listening

Take a Break recorded live at CD launch, March 2009

Catherine MacLellan’s Water in the Ground was on the top of the pile of my Canadian CDs so I put it on last night before supper.  It was the perfect compliment to a laid back day.

The CD is not a barn burner or hit album. It’s simply a warm collection of roots-country songs by PEI’s number one chanteuse who gets better with each listening.

The first thing that struck me was how strong her singing had becoming compared with earlier albums. Catherine has a soft, ethereal voice that is never harsh or jarring. She’s just a wonderfully relaxing singer.

Take a Break is the “hit” of the CD with a upbeat, catchy tune that sticks inside my head. The lyric is deceptively simple and filled with a sly joy.  She follows it with the strong Water in the Ground about the expectant pleasure of returning to the one you love set to a country beat. Hotel Stairs swings with the plea to “come here now.”

Catherine’s songs are almost confessional and about her life. “You have my heart” she sings tenderly about her daughter in Isabel’s Song.  At the other end of the spectrum is her muted cry “For now let’s pretend you were never there” in Flowers on Your Grave.

If there is any fault it is that she’s so laid back you’re not compelled to listen carefully and she still holds back the words.  As one musician put it “She needs to sing out.” Update, yesterday I was struggling with the word to describe the vocals. It’s confessional at time, almost a whisper.

The accompaniment is spare and tasty. Nick Cobham supplies country flavored licks that back Catherine’s strumming or guitar picking.  Kyle Cunjak has just the right touch on upright bass and local drummer Richard Knox is there but not intrusive. Banjo, mandolin, steel guitar, accordion and piano fill in at the right points.  The arrangements which are credited to Catherine MacLellan and James Phillips seem just right and balance her light voice.

The video is from the launch at the Guild in Charlottetown.  You can listen to some of the songs on YouTube and her website.

Update – today’s top song in my head is Isabel’ Song another from this CD. This happens to me with this CD. Somehow I find myself hearing the melodies in my head.