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Reviews: Jeanne T. Arrigo ~ Five Songs
Posted on Saturday, September 11, 2004 @ 07:55:04 PDT
Topic: Reviews
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Artist: Jeanne T. Arrigo
CD: Five Songs
Home: Chicago, Illinois
Style: Acoustic Folk Singer/Songwriter
Quote: "She has a passionate, powerful, almost operatic voice that holds long notes for a long time."
By Jennifer Layton
This is more mood music than folk storytelling fare. Jeanne T. Arrigo calls her songs character-driven short stories, but her songs place us more in the character's state of mind than in the actual story. Yes, we hear about an abusive relationship in "She," but we hear more about what the abused woman thinks, feels, and knows, not so much about what she does. It's hard to figure out what is bad enough to make her leave when the violence is only alluded to in lines such as "The truth was managed by the one who made sure she lived a lie."
That's not to say this isn't beautiful music. For those who like their folk songs more introspective and intense, Arrigo is their girl. She has a passionate, powerful, almost operatic voice that holds long notes for a long time. She moves past the action and goes right into the minds of the players. The reason becomes obvious when you visit her web site -- Arrigo is also an actress. Getting into characters' minds is what acting's all about.
Arrigo has a full-length album coming out in early 2005, and I'd like to hear her try to break out for at least one song and try a different approach. Maybe as a writing exercise, she should try writing a song all about what a character does, without a single word about what the character is thinking. Let us figure out the state of mind by the actions. Or maybe she could kick it up a notch and try something a little uptempo. Overall, she's got promising material for the new album -- my only advice is to try to keep all the songs from sounding just like these five.
http://www.jeannetarrigo.com
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| Article Rating | Average Score: 5
Votes: 4
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