Love’s The Only Way - Reviews
SOUNDSTAGE REVIEW, November 2004
SARAH PIERCE, Love's The Only Way, Little Bear/IRD
“Acoustic guitarist/singer/songwriter Sarah Pierce’s bandwagon, the one I suggested you jump on a year or so back, is gaining momentum. The title track to her latest CD, Love’s the Only Way, hit # 25 on the adult contemporary music charts. And from the sound of the balance of the disc, she should have a stronger presence on the charts in the near future.
Eleven of the 13 songs on Love’s the Only Way are Pierce’s. As with her 2000 disc, Birdman, these songs touch on Pierce’s vision of life, love, hope and reality. Most are expressions of exactly what we all go through during our lifetimes, allowing a deeper connection to each song. And, as a bonus, the hum factor is extremely high—these songs will stick with you long after the album is over.
Merle Bergante (of Loggins & Messina fame) produced the disc, and he also plays drums and percussion, and provides some backing vocals. Bergante is an analog fan, but this is, nonetheless, a digital recording. It’s a good-sounding Red Book digital recording, which is no real surprise given that most of the better-sounding CDs these days come from smaller labels.
As the liner notes inform us, "this recording does not (italics mine) use digital enhancement. Rather, it is a celebration of musical gifts, created in our hearts, made by our hands, given, with our love, to our friends…everywhere."
—John Crossett, Sound Stage, November 2004
AUDIO REVIEW, March 2004
SARAH PIERCE, Love's The Only Way, Little Bear/IRD
There’s so much stuff we already know of in this new album by Sarah Pierce (at least for us who are following pop music evolution since a long time). Here we have delicate songs in the trails of mainstream folk and country rock, both musical genres that had a lot of imitators in the last few decades. But the difference here is done by a delicious singing and a lovely mix of piano and guitars arrangements. There’s always something to deliver you a nice surprise while you’re listening to this album. Sarah Pierce is a contemporary singer/songwriter but she has the same problems of many collegues of her generation who are deeply rooted in tradition: their problem seems to be to find an audience for a 90 minutes show and convince it to buy records. Born in Illinois, she lived also in California, where she worked hard on her music and inspiration to free them from the ties of traditional country music. Now she’s based in Austin, where she took a big step forward and built herself a strong reputation as a powerful and hard working performer. This girl has a strong personality, and also a very focused taste for harmonies, a great talent in writing ballads (My Kinda Day) and she’s so good at using West Coast “musical colors” (listen to the title track) with a big help from faithful musicians and friends. She has a very beautiful voice, firm and trained, and she knows how to used it with confidence. Sometimes she’s soft (Some Days), other times is rough and straight (Talk To Me), and sometimes she sails somewhere in between those places where Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon or Shania Twain have already been. A kind of female version of Jackson Browne, if you want, with those lyrics always coming from everyday personal experiences. His husband Merel Bregante (drummer with Loggins & Messina, Chris Hillman, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and many more) has the producion credits, as he did for her previous albums. Artistic Rate: 8 of 10: Sonic Rate: 8 of 10.
—Luigi Lozzi, AUDIO REVIEW, March 2004 - Translation by Marco Grompi
“SARAH PIERCE/Love's the Only Way: It's always a treat to hear new music from a new artist, especially when it's this good. Sarah Pierce's "Love's The Only Way" has all the right elements to produce some bigtime airplay results. Her easy going vocals are supported by some very tasty piano and a strong melody. Already getting instant phone reaction at KKMJ, Austin, TX.
— Mark Laspina–Friday Morning Quarterback, 2004
SARAH PIERCE
Love's The Only Way (Little Bear Records)
Reviewed by Eric Steiner
I'm quite taken with Austin, Texas' songbird Sarah Pierce. She's got a crystal clear voice, and Sarah reminds me of Karla Bonoff, Emmylou Harris or Eliza Gilkyson. Sarah's CD, produced by Merel Brigante (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Loggins and Messina), is a baker's dozen of competent songs that range from the folk rock of "Calliope," the upbeat title tune, the softly introspective "I'm Not An Angel," or the harder-edged "Hard Road." This month, Sarah's touring schedule includes New Orleans, Louisiana (Virgin Megastore), to New York (The Bitter End), and Chicago (Uncommon Grounds), and if she's appearing near you, check her out, ‘cause Love's The Only Way has a nice mix of country, folk and rock.
Track List:
Wanna Walk With You * Love's The Only Way *Modern Day Robinhood * Calliope * My Kinda Day * Some Days * Caroline and Eugene * Talk To Me * I'm Not An Angel *Hard Road * Get Together
© 2003 - Eric Steiner
“SARAH PIERCE/Love's the Only Way: One of the queens of the back 40, part singer/songwriter, part folk-rocker and part Austin good old girl, Pierce continues to solidify her skills. With a ton of roadwork between releases, you can feel what Pierce has absorbed along the way making each new outing a real new outing. Fueled by sharp writing and keen observation, this set is going to grab ears of singer/songwriter fans with both hands. Solid work from an artist with a lot on the ball and a lot to show for her effort.
—Midwest Record Recap (IL), 2003
“MAKING HER WAY: If, by Sunday afternoon, you still haven't had your fill of rodeo excitement for this year, you might like to drive over to Borders Bookstore in Sand City for a different kind of cowboy-related entertainment. Singer-songwriter Sarah Pierce is the stepdaughter of a cowboy, and she is on tour to promote her new album, "Love's The Only Way," which is set for release Aug. 12.
Pierce was born into a family of cattlemen in Rockford, Ill., and grew up in Texas and Colorado. Her stepfather, a doctor in the small town where the family lived, played bass in a local country band on weekends.
One night, he invited his 12-year-old stepdaughter, who had always loved singing, to come along to a show and sing a few songs. After one song, she was hooked, and her life's dream to be a professional singer was kindled.
Pierce eventually graduated college with a master's degree in medical science and took a job in Denver as a physician's assistant. After a while, however, she began to get the feeling that she was neglecting her dream of being a performer.
"I was missing something crucial to my existence -- my music," she said.
She decided to move to Phoenix, a place she had heard of as having a thriving music scene. There, she soon formed a band and was seen performing at a local club by John McEuen of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. He was so impressed that right there and then he invited her to join him as opening act on a 13-week tour of the United States.
In 1991, Pierce released her debut CD, "West Texas Wind," on Little Bear Records. The following year, she decided to investigate the musical opportunities on the West Coast. She relocated to Santa Barbara, where she formed a new band and quickly caught the attention of local agents. In addition to performing on MTV, she was booked at shows all across the United States and into Canada. It was while on one of these tours that she played in Austin, Texas, and finally found a place that she felt truly at home.
Now based in Austin, Sarah Pierce has toured all across Europe as well as the United States and Canada. She has released three more CDs, "No Place Like Home" (1998); "The Buttercup Princess" (2000), a collection of children's songs); and "Birdman" (2001).
Her voice has been compared to Emmylou Harris' and Shawn Colvin's among others, and she draws upon country and pop/rock influences in equal measure. Seamlessly blending the old with the new, her sound has led the Los Angeles Times to call her "a likely candidate for contemporary music fame." With the release of her new album imminent and a promotional tour of the United States and Europe spanning the summer and fall of this year, Sarah Pierce and The Healers certainly look set to go all the way.
—By Andrew Gilhooley, THE SALINAS VALLEY CALIFORNIAN, July 17, 2003
“SARAH PIERCE/Love's the Only Way: One of the queens of the back 40, part singer/songwriter, part folk-rocker and part Austin good old girl, Pierce continues to solidify her skills. With a ton of roadwork between releases, you can feel what Pierce has absorbed along the way making each new outing a real new outing. Fueled by sharp writing and keen observation, this set is going to grab ears of singer/songwriter fans with both hands. Solid work from an artist with a lot on the ball and a lot to show for her effort.
—Midwest Record Recap (IL), 2003
“SARAH PIERCE/Love's the Only Way: One of the queens of the back 40, part singer/songwriter, part folk-rocker and part Austin good old girl, Pierce continues to solidify her skills. With a ton of roadwork between releases, you can feel what Pierce has absorbed along the way making each new outing a real new outing. Fueled by sharp writing and keen observation, this set is going to grab ears of singer/songwriter fans with both hands. Solid work from an artist with a lot on the ball and a lot to show for her effort.
—Midwest Record Recap (IL), 2003
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