Birdman - Reviews
Midwest Records
SARAH PIERCE / BIRDMAN
Wow, here's a young comer that has captured the
industrial side of Emmylou Harris and has a better
handle on it than Harris.
While it's always rough to follow in someone's footsteps,
the world wise Pierce brings her own stuff to the table
and makes you wonder how the majors have missed
out on her.
Dazzling set that singer/songwriter fans will have to take to heart.
Pierce-ingly Good
A vet and a novice are paired for a great night at the Varsity.
On Friday night, July 20, Baton Rouge’s Varsity Theatre presented a low-profile, high-quality show pairing up-and-coming Austin singer-songwriter Sarah Pierce with veteran Baton Rouge musician Duke Bardwell. The mostly middle-aged patrons, thoughtfully accommodated with chairs and candlelit tables, made up in enthusiasm (quality) what they lacked in numbers (quantity), and included at least one celebrity in Bardwell’s cousin, New Orleans blues singer Luther Kent. At $10 a head, they got more than their money’s worth.
In addition to an hour of Pierce (about whom more in a minute), the audience got 90 minutes of Bardwell and his four-man band, whose exclusive use of mandolin, fiddle, washboard and two acoustic guitars enabled them to create the curious effect of playing bluegrass while seldom playing anything of the kind. Whether unplugging a song from Bardwell’s 1999 album Angel’s Wings (“It’s Real”), revisiting his days in Cold Gritz and the Black-Eyed Peas (“Bayou Country”) or debuting a track from the forthcoming album by Bardwell’s right-hand guitar man Ron Cliburn, the ensemble demonstrated a rare and enviable versatility and lightness of touch.
Bardwell’s set contained no references to his stint as Elvis Presley’s bassist (unless Cliburn’s muttering “Thank-you-very-much” at one point counts), but his decision to perform an evocative version of “Jesus on the Mainline” as his penultimate number was certainly something the King would have appreciated.
He would’ve appreciated Pierce, too, but, given his proclivities, perhaps more for her photogenic cheekbones and onstage charm than for her sensitive story-songs.
One could forgive him. In this day of young-women singers uglifying themselves beyond the call of feminist duty in a self-defeating attempt to stay ahead of what they wrongly perceive as male-pattern expectations, the musical talents of an attractive, frequently downright nice, frontwoman can get overlooked, sometimes even by the frontwoman herself.
Take Birdman, for instance, the latest of Pierce’s several albums. By the time one reaches Pierce’s lullaby-like rendition of “What a Wonderful World” (her encore at the Varsity) at disc’s end, an acute sense of having missed something begins to set in.
Where, one wonders, are the peaks on this obviously competent album, the upward swings of an admittedly — and admirably — steady graph?
Pierce’s live show goes a long way toward answering the question. Powered by the drumming of her husband Merel Bregante (downplayed on Birdman) and awash in the soulful organ playing of her Italian keyboardist Stefano (missing from Birdman altogether), the sympathetic sketches “Marjorie” and “Anything Goes” take on
muscle while the quizzically spiritual “High Holy Day” verges on epiphany.
Interestingly enough, the most impressive aspect of Pierce’s Varsity performance was her renditions of songs made famous by others (Ray Price’s “Crazy Arms,” Patsy Cline’s “Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray”). Is it unkind to wonder whether her true gift lies less in self-expression than in the vanishing art of interpretation?
E-mail Orteza at arsenioort@aol.com
Fresno, California Weekly
CD Shakedown
July 6, 2001
Sarah Pierce, Birdman (Little Bear Records 2000) - Sarah Pierce is a singer's singer - a country chanteuse transported to Austin, Texas. Birdman showcases her vocal skills on a labor of love.
Birdman is Sarah's third CD following, West Texas Wind (1991) and No Place Like Home (1995). Sarah's big break came when she was seen by John McEuen (longtime member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) and asked to be his opening act. This springboard lead Sarah to thousands of miles on the road and a sure sense of her abilities.
Sarah's band includes Merel Bregante on drums and percussion, Chris Maresh on bass, Kenny Grimes on electric guitar, and Riley Osborn on keyboards. Sarah provides vocals an acoustic guitar.
While Birdman has a nod toward country on the sprightly title track, much of the album heads toward slower contemporary pop, on such tracks as "Ordinary Day" and the smokey, Eleni Mandell-influenced, "Anything Goes."
Confesses the Texas-based singer, "My music is far different from the music with which I was raised. I truly respect and love traditional country music. It is held in a most special place in my heart. However, what comes out of me as a writer is much more toward contemporary pop. That's where I am supposed to be."
Yet don't think this daughter of a cowboy (four members of her family are in the Cattlemen's Hall of Fame) has abandoned her country roots - "Coffee Shop" is a four-minute honky-tonk jammer.
Pierce also made sure she had a career to fall back on in case music didn't work out: She holds a Master's Degree in Medical Science from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
The album concludes with a subdued cover of "What a Wonderful World" that brings to mind the late Eva Cassiday's reading of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
Birdman is a handmade gem, comparable to Joyce Harrison on Nashville: Off the Record.
Suite101.com
May 2001's Best New CDs: M-Z
Author: Chad Bowar
Published on: May 31, 2001
Sarah Pierce - Birdman
The first thing that jumps out at you when listening to Birdman is that voice. It’s powerful and emotional, a little bit country, and a little bit rock and roll. Pierce’s voice has been compared to Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith, Joni Mitchell and Shawn Colvin. That’s pretty impressive company. Birdman is an eclectic mix of pop, country, folk and rock. From the opening notes of “My Street” all the way to an amazing cover version of “What A Wonderful World”, Birdman is a delight from start to finish.
For the entire thing go to: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/3985/70831
Soundstage - May 2001
by John Crossett
johnc@soundstage.com
Musical Performance - 4.5
Recording Quality - 3.5
Overall Enjoyment - 4.5
Maximum of 5
Every once in a while, it’s fun to be one of the people building the bandwagon that everyone else will eventually be jumping onto. Sarah Pierce’s Birdman offers one of those opportunities and should do very nicely as the floorboard for said bandwagon. This album, a mixture of pop/country/rock/folk tunes, adds up to a very musical disc, one that should go a long way toward garnering Sarah Pierce the appreciation of a much wider audience.
Within Ms. Pierce’s singing and songwriting, you'll hear echoes of many diverse musicians. Influences from the likes of Emmylou Harris (listen to songs such as "My Street" and "Marjorie"), Joni Mitchell (no particular song, just the overall writing style), Kate Bush ("Turn Around" and "I Don’t Know Why"), Nancy Griffith ("Anything Goes" and "Wind") and others, are pervasive, but they never overpower Pierce’s own voice. Her songs will grab and then keep your attention, because they need no outside help. She claims that her style owes more to pop/rock than country/folk, and while that may be true, you can easily hear what being raised in Texas and Colorado has done for her songwriting.
There are no real rockers on Birdman (the closest is "Coffee Shop," which boogies right along). Song tempos range from ballad to moderately upbeat. Ms. Pierce is already a strong songwriter, a talent that should only grow with both time and better recognition. She owns a beautiful voice, one that allows you to feel as well as hear what she’s singing. And it’s perfectly suited to her musical style.
The sound here is typical of most studio efforts today. This is a digital recording; ergo, there is very little ambience captured (none, really). Soundstage width is OK, but there is almost no depth, and the highs sound a tad rolled off. You can, however, follow each instrument with relative ease within the soundfield. And Pierce’s voice comes through the mix so you can hear every inflection in her singing. So while this is no audiophile effort, its shortcomings won’t get in the way of your enjoying the music. And the music is so strong it overcomes any problems in the recording quality.
I'll go out on a limb and declare that I think Sarah Pierce is a rocket about to take off, and Birdman is the launching pad. Pick up a copy and grab a good seat on the bandwagon. If you choose not to, well, start getting your legs into shape, because you’re going to be doing a bit of jumping very soon. Now, where did I put that hammer?
For the entire thing go to: http://www.soundstage.com/music/reviews/rev325.htm
Sarah Pierce - Birdman
Sarah Pierce è una nuova realtà emergente del mondo
cantautorale americano che, in qualche modo, è legata
all'Italia e, in particolare alla nostra provincia. Sarah
nasce a Rockford, Illinois, figlia di un allevatore di
bestiame. Dotata di una voce non comune sui toni
bassi, questa sua caratteristica le crea qualche
problema agli esordi quando la mentalità conformista
della provincia americana trovava che fosse "poco
femminile".
Accantonate per qualche anno le proprie ambizioni
musicali, si laurea in medicina.
Trasferitasi a Phoenix forma il suo primo gruppo,
Sarah Pierce & the Heaters con cui incide il suo primo
album West Texas Wind.
Abbandonate le zone rurali per la California (Santa
Barbara), si libera dalle pastoie di un country
tradizionale per allargare i propri orizzonti e dilatare la
propria musica.
Il suo definitivo trasferimento ad Austin (Texas) le
consente di mettere radici in un posto che sente come
"casa" e affinare il proprio stile musicale: la figlia del
cowboy è diventata una cantautrice "universale".
Condivide esperienze e palcoscenico con artisti come
Jerry Jeff Walker, Arlo Guthrie, Fabulous
Thunderbirds, Asleep At The Wheels e altri ancora.
Nel 1995 incide il secondo album Place Like Home
e compie il suo primo tour europeo (in cui viene
compresa anche l'Italia). Tra una tournee e l'altra, tra il
'98 e il '99, con l'aiuto di Merel Bregante (già batterista
di Loggins & Messina, Chris Hillman e Nitty Gritty
Dirt Band), marito e produttore, e di una manciata di
musicisti italiani che ben conosciamo (i componenti dei
Chicken Mambo!) prepara il materiale per il nuovo
album che vede la luce nel 2000.
Birdman è il titolo dell'album (e anche di uno
dei brani più riusciti del CD). 12 delle 13 canzoni sono
state scritte da Sarah. I testi prendono sempre spunto da
picole storie personali come My Street che parla della
ricerca di un "groove" musicale che possa essere
applicato anche alla vita: per esempio il battito del cuore.
Oppure Birdman che
racconta della strana apparizione, in una tiepida alba,
di uno strano personaggio, con un lungo cappotto
nero, che dava da mangiare agli uccelli. Turn Around
si basa sul racconto che le faceva la nonna quando le
parlava del suo gioco preferito da ragazzina: mettersi a
girare in tondo in un campo di grano sino a quando, in
preda alle vertigini, non cadeva a terra dove restava ad
osservare le nuvole che correvano nel cielo.
Musicalmente, se dovessi proprio fare un paragone,
potrei accostarla a Shania Twain, Linda Ronstad o
Emmilou Harris ma sarebbe restrittivo. Provate ad
ascoltare la splendida cover di What A Wanderful
World.
di Furio Sollazzi
for the entire thing go to:
http://www.miapavia.com/musica/recensioni/sarah.cfm
"Sarah Pierce sounds like a combination of at least ten different artists. I'm talking about the female scene of the mid '80, let's say around the first Edie Brickell album. So, it's more Joni Mitchell and Laura Nyro than Ani DiFranco or Tori Amos, the latter two being too neurotic to accept the idea of spending a whole day "sitting here talking with you" (Talking With You).
But it's okay, at least once in a while, to let ourselves be caressed by the serene thought and cradled by the peaceful easy feeling of being brought back to 1975. If Sarah were only more sorrowful, she would perhaps write more intense and deep songs like Turn Around, the best selection on the album. Ultimately, it's not her fault if, up till now, her life has been filled with many fine moments like the ones described in these songs."
Antonio Vivaldi - Musica! n° 242, june 8th, 2000
(Translation by Marco Grompi)
"The very pleasing Birdman, is the third solo album by Texan singer/songwriter Sarah Pierce (wife of drummer Merel Bregante, former Loggins & Messina, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Dan Fogelberg and others). A delicate and lightly smooth songwriter, Pierce shows also a very good taste in arranging these twelve songs. Her vocal timbre (it's sweet but it also shows an energetic presence when needed) fits perfectly well with her writing style and her arrangements, placing herself somewhere in between the tradition of singers like Emmylou Harris and writers like Nanci Griffiths (hear the wonderfully sophisticated ballad Marjorie), not forgetting the great Shawn Colvin.
Pierce is enchanting when handles country - or, I should write better, country rock - tinged songs like the soothing Talking With You, or when she elegantly sails the stormy seas of a roughly crafted honky tonk like Coffee Shop. But in the end is in tracks like Anything Goes (an electro-acoustic mid-tempo with an absolutely gorgeous melody) that Sarah gives her best. The album closes with the cover of the superclassic What A Wonderful World: it's a remake that does not surprise me for its innovation, but Pierce interpretation proves here a discrete maturity. Sarah Pierce will tour Italy between may 1st and 10th (contact: canny@scabin.com.) Rate: 7/8 (out of 10) Why? If you love singers & songwriters of New American Alt. Folk scene, Sarah Pierce's charming class, writing skill and soothing vocals will fill you with enthusiasm."
(Translation by Marco Grompi)
"The very pleasing Birdman, is the third solo album by Texas singer/songwriter Sarah Pierce. A delicate and lightly smooth songwriter, Pierce also shows good taste in arranging these twelve songs. Her vocal timbre (it's sweet but it also shows an energetic presence when needed) fits perfectly well with her writing style and her arrangements, placing herself somewhere in between the tradition of singers like Emmylou Harris and writers like Nanci Griffiths (hear the wonderfully sophisticated ballad Marjorie), not forgetting the great Shawn Colvin. Pierce is enchanting when handling country, or better, country rock tinged songs like the soothing Talking With You, or when she elegantly sails the stormy seas of a roughly crafted honky tonk like Coffee Shop. But in the end it is in tracks like Anything Goes (an electro-acoustic mid-tempo with an absolutely gorgeous melody) that Sarah gives her best. The album closes with a cover of the superclassic What A Wonderful World: it's a remake that does not surprise me for its innovation, but Pierce’s interpretation shows a discrete maturity. Sarah Pierce will tour Italy between May 1st and 10th (contact: canny@scabin.com).
Rate: 7/8
Why? If you love singers & songwriters of American Folk Nuovo (Contemporary American Folk), Sarah Pierce's charming class, writing skill, and soothing vocals will fill you with enthusiasm.
Ezio Guaitamacchi - JAM n°59, april 2000
(Translation by Marco Grompi)
“Sarah Pierce, a powerfully talented songwriter from Austin, Texas. The name of this young singer/songwriter from Austin (actually born in Illinois) should be known to all the lovers of the independent american music scene. After the good impressions earned by her second album, No Place Like Home, Sarah did a short tour in Italy in 1999, showing an edgier side than was shown in the studio. Once more helped on production by her skillful
husband Merel Bregante (a legendary musician in the Texas country rock scene), Sarah threw the dice with her third album, Birdman, the result of the experiences gained being on the road and doing a lot of concerts.
Her originality and the overall sound are the things that impress the most: everything sounds pretty far away from the rootsy accents of the usual Austin scene, and the folk & country roots are more evident even where lushy pop arrangements, with a fundamental role played by piano and acoustic guitars, are prominent. Good balanced production and Sarah's sweet and charming voice remind the listener of the music of California during the 70’s, especially first ladies Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt.
In the first half of the album we have the best results: My Street and Marjorie are very delicate melodies with wonderful electric guitar work in the latter. Wind is West Coast-tinged, and Birdman features a brilliant piano performance. Anything Goes is, again, very California-sounding, enriched by a good slide guitar; Coffee Shop is a not very inventive boogie-rock break with guitars too distant in the mix, but Talkin' With You and High Holy Day clearly show Sarah’s country background. At times the album suffers from a sound that is a bit too polished, but it's a very well-crafted folk pop album, even when certain songs sound like cliches (Angel, Ordinary Day, Turn Around). An intense and passionate version (piano and voice only) of the ultraclassic Wonderful World is an elegant closer, however the song seems a little out of place on this album.
Fabio Cerbone - Buscadero n° 213, may 2000
"The very pleasing Birdman, is the third solo album by Texas singer/songwriter Sarah Pierce. A delicate and lightly smooth songwriter, Pierce also shows good taste in arranging these twelve songs. Her vocal timbre (it's sweet but it also shows an energetic presence when needed) fits perfectly well with her writing style and her arrangements, placing herself somewhere in between the tradition of singers like Emmylou Harris and writers like Nanci Griffiths (hear the wonderfully sophisticated ballad Marjorie), not forgetting the great Shawn Colvin. Pierce is enchanting when handling country, or better, country rock tinged songs like the soothing Talking With You, or when she elegantly sails the stormy seas of a roughly crafted honky tonk like Coffee Shop. But in the end it is in tracks like Anything Goes (an electro-acoustic mid-tempo with an absolutely gorgeous melody) that Sarah gives her best. The album closes with a cover of the superclassic What A Wonderful World: it's a remake that does not surprise me for its innovation, but Pierce’s interpretation shows a discrete maturity. Sarah Pierce will tour Italy between May 1st and 10th (contact: canny@scabin.com).
Rate: 7/8
Why? If you love singers & songwriters of American Folk Nuovo (Contemporary American Folk), Sarah Pierce's charming class, writing skill, and soothing vocals will fill you with enthusiasm.
Ezio Guaitamacchi - JAM n°59, april 2000
(Translation by Marco Grompi)
“...Pierce’s Birdman arrives with great strength...a voice of ultimate presence...with beautiful, sophisticated compositions like those of Nancy Griffith and Shawn Colvin...”
"This Birdman CD you've sent me by Sarah Pierce is an absolute masterpiece in every respect. I think that I have a good ear for radio friendly audio and this is as good as anything on the market, with Sarah's very excellent voice right out front where you can understand every word clearly. I'll certainly be adding Birdman to my radio shows. I'm very impressed and no amount of success would surprise me."
"This Birdman CD you've sent me by Sarah Pierce is an absolute masterpiece in every respect. I think that I have a good ear for radio friendly audio and this is as good as anything on the market, with Sarah's very excellent voice right out front where you can understand every word clearly. I'll certainly be adding Birdman to my radio shows. I'm very impressed and no amount of success would surprise me."
“A divine sound, an extraordinary artist” - LaStampa 1999
“Pierce is exuberant, dynamic and besides being charming,very clever. The comparisons to Emmy Lou Harris are for once, not rhetorical." - Out of Time
“Pierce, like Emmy Lou Harris, a unique voice with abounding emotion” - San Martino
“Pierce, a youthful, yet surprisingly well travelled shining star” - Gilgamesh
“Sarah Pierce seems a likely candidate for contemporary music fame. She has a most impressive instrument, as they say, potent of force and certainly no stranger to nuance. She is a smart and gifted musician not lacking for either ambition or a larger sense of purpose.” - LA Times
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