Stephanie Finch - Cry Tomorrow ({{{Bell Sound}}})
I got the impression that this was an easy project for Ms. Finch and her beau Chuck Prophet, even though, apparently, he was producing an album for the first time. There is an easy vibe to this music, a very pleasant mood that, as you listen, seems to permeate the very air around you. It seems to be letting you know that all is well in the Prophet camp, and we can all keep on chooglin’. I don’t mean that they were so relaxed making this that they didn’t have to try too hard, but once they had lined up their ducks it appears that they knew what they wanted from the process, and were able to nail it with gentle conviction and consummate ease.

It’s good to see Stephanie in the limelight for once. She has spent a lot of the last decade playing second fiddle (well, vocals, guitar and piano, actually) to her husband, providing her share of the energy and buzz that is always present when Chuck Prophet tours, and an ever (necessary) presence on the albums sent out in his name. Here she is able (very able) to take the centre stage and show us that she has a voice, and oodles of presence, to spare. Six of these ten songs are either written or co-written by her, and her ease with the other songs is also clearly evident, as she’s always cool and relaxed with the material, always adopting the right vocal mood. She really shines on the up-tempo “Don’t Back Out Now”, and the best track on the album for my money, “In My Book Of Love”. Her voice is challenged all along this particular watchtower by the competing instruments of her company of men – mainly Chuck, Kelley Stoltz and Rusty Miller – and I don’t really need to tell you how well they sound, do I?

This doesn’t stray very far from the Chuck Prophet style, but it doesn’t need to. It’s good to be able to have a new take on something familiar, and having Stephanie at the centre of this particular mix is an inspirational idea carried out to near perfection. Well done, all!
www.myspace.com/stephaniefinchmusic

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