Music Street Journal - Music News & Reviews

Non-Prog CD Reviews

Claire Hamill A Pocket Full Of Love Songs Review by Gary Hill Folk music, jazz and more merge on this album. The sound here is more fully tied to mellower modes of earlier eras. I first heard about Claire Hamill via her work with Steve Howe, but she has had quite a diverse career over the years. While her vocals are the main selling point here, the songwriting and musical performances are classy, too. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2023 Volume 5 More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2023.

Track by Track Review

Aphrodite Obscured With a classy soft rock angle to it, some slide guitar brings hints of country music. This is energetic and so strong.

You Came Through Time Contemporary pop music along with folky soft rock in the mix, this is solid, but not quite as effective for me as the opener was.

This Duet There is more of a jazz ballad kind of thing at play here. I love the vocal performance on this, but I'm not as fond of the musical motif.

I Got My Mojo Back With much more rock and roll in the mix, this is a nice change. It is also a lot of fun.

Turning My Back On Love Old time rock and roll seems to merge with jazz on this mid-tempo piece.

A Pocket Full Of Love Songs This number has more of that soft rock thing at play. This is one of the most effective numbers on the album. It has a lot of emotion and beauty in the mix.

I'll Wait For Winter Built around acoustic guitar with some flute over the top, there is a real old-time sound to this. It's also got some violin in the mix. It's a pretty piece that is among the best here.

Go With The Flow I love this song. It's a mellower number with a largely acoustic guitar arrangement. It's packed full of emotion.

Who Cares? (It Feels So Good!) With a lot of country music in the mix, this has a good energy and flow. It is fun, but not as much my kind of thing as some of the rest here. The electric guitar solo is full rockabilly. I think this over stays its welcome just a little.

This Woman Is A Mess A mellower country folk styled tune is in store here. I like this better than the one that came before it, but it's not one of my favorites here.

Springtime For Lovers Folk rock and contemporary pop music merge here. This is an effective piece. It feels like something that would have been at home on the radio in the early 1970s.

More CD Reviews

Metal/Prog Metal

Non-Prog

Progressive Rock

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
© 2024 Music Street Journal Site design and programming by Studio Fyra, Inc./Beetcafe.com