63 Results for : forgettable
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Check Out Girl
Samantha Roark was running out of time. Only seventeen years old, she was hooked on speed, frighteningly underweight and desperate. She gathered her strength and went to the cemetery where her beloved grandmother had recently been buried. Crouched there beside the headstone, she prayed. Please God, I need some help. Four hours later Sam was arrested. That was two years ago. In September, 2010, she wowed festival audiences in Clay County, Kentucky with the launching of her debut CD, Check Out Girl, produced by country music veteran artist/producer Joe Sun. The work has been praised by insiders including Cowboy Jack Clement (Charley Pride, Johnny Cash), who pointed to the innate "calming" quality of her vocal style, and WKLB's legendary Cornbread Barker, who said: "I've been in this business 30 years, and this is as good as it gets." "That arrest was the miracle I'd prayed for," Sam reflects. "I went into a program called Drug Court, got clean, and healthy. Thanks to the court's program, I am alive today. I don't think I would have lasted another month on the path I'd been on. As it was, I got a second chance, and an opportunity to get back to the music I love." Sam was born to a musical family in Clay County, Kentucky. She started singing at age three, and playing the piano at four. "Everybody played instruments," she says. "My uncles played guitars, my grandpa, "Jamup" Miller, played. My grandma, Georgia Juanita Miller was a songwriter with songs that had been published in Nashville. But I wasn't much of a singer until I was twelve, and my voice matured. Up until then the family thought I was going to be the only Miller in history who couldn't sing a note!" In fact, Sam's voice sounded like an adult by the time she hit her teens, and she quickly became known for it throughout the area. Sam excelled during her first two years of high school. She was a high achiever in both music and sports - singing in the choir, playing in the band, running track and playing varsity basketball. But it was through her sports competitions that she connected to the drug world, and went on the downhill spiral that finally came to a halt in a Manchester, Kentucky graveyard. It was a hard road back, but with support from her uncle Robert Reid and the great grandmother who raised her, Sam made it. She displayed the same heart and determination in recording her debut CD with Sun. Using top Nashville pickers and recording songs by hit-making writers including Gail Davies, Ron Davies, Rich Fagen, Shawn Kamp and John Scott Sherrill, Sun and Roark have constructed an album blending contemporary radio ready American music with deep traditional roots. The tracks are clean, crisp and open, leaving space for Sam's compelling voice to showcase a remarkable song repertoire. This is a collection of keepers. Says Sam: "We didn't want something that just had a couple of memorable songs, with the rest forgettable. We looked for the best, and I think we got them." Producer Joe Sun agrees. "We went to the best writers, and got their best songs - the gems - the songs that had been out there demanding to be sung. That goes for Sam's performance, too. It is a talent that demands to be heard, and Check Out Girl is a CD that is different from anything you're going to hear in today's market. Once you listen you are never going to forget Sam Roark. ( Printed AS Written By Patsi Bale Cox)- Shop: odax
- Price: 26.27 EUR excl. shipping
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Seasoned Hymns
There are so many spiritual truths in hymns of old that still stand the test of time. Although many hymns may have been popular at the time they were written, it is mainly the ones that are anchored in timeless Biblical truths and memorable tunes that have lasted to this day in practical use in many denominations and churches throughout the world. However, these hymns can suffer from 'old age' and can end up being 'retired' for supposed lack of usefulness and relevance in today's society. Just as the older generation have much they can teach the younger ones, so these older hymns have much to teach our newer 'spiritual songs'. Let's face it, style changes but that doesn't mean we should discard what was popular in past years merely on the basis of the musical style of the time. Take clothing for instance. Since the beginning people have been the same. We all have, or are designed to have, a head, torso, two arms and two legs (to put it simply). But how we build upon this to present ourselves to the world has been ever changing. What we wore two or three centuries ago looks a little out of place in today's society. Sure, it may be a novelty to wear these outfits and turn heads, but it's practicality could be called into question and you wouldn't put it on for everyday use. Even in particular settings like that of a courthouse the traditional garb has given way, to a certain extent, to contemporary business attire and even the judicial wigs have been lost in many parts of the world. Putting this into the context of church music, although the hymns of the past have melody and substance, I believe they could do with a style change to help them 'fit with today's styles' and therefore be available to use in a wider context - not only the traditional 'mainstream' churches and worship settings but also the newer 'contemporary' settings that abound so much in society today. Of course, one runs the risk of relegating them to the mundane, simple, forgettable, short shelf-life songs that often abound in today's fast paced, technological culture, and therefore taking away some of the characteristics that have helped them stand the test of time. Taking this into consideration I have attempted, where possible, to keep with the same words, melody, tempo and chord textures as the original hymns. This helps those of us who are familiar with the originals. However, the new settings also allow the possibility of opening the eyes and ears of those who have yet to experience the beauty and depth, the wonderful doctrinal truths and melodies held in these hymns. Where I have strayed from this path I have aimed at breaking our own rote singing of the hymns to provoke us into rethinking what is being sung. Most of us today don't think twice about utilising modern technology in our food preparation. We don't go out of our way to use wood or coal ovens if we can help it. Electric and gas ovens as well as microwaves are used to produce wonderful dishes. These new technologies can make a recipe taste different than when it was first cooked years ago using older technology - even if it was cutting edge at the time. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that these hymns are (or taste) ineffective or inadequate in the state in which they have been held in over the centuries. What I am trying to achieve here is the use of today's technologies and styles to prepare and re-season these wonderful hymns so that more people will be exposed to them and want to 'consume' them. In no way am I seeking to alienate those who have 'dined out' for years on these hymns in their original styles. However, as our taste buds get used to a certain flavour until we no longer taste the nuances of all the attributing flavours, we can become nonchalant to what the 'hymn meal' has to offer. With a bit of salt, pepper, spice and seasoning I hope these hymns will tantalise your taste buds and reopen your spiritual eyes and ears - that your tongue will, once again or for the first time, sing the seasoned songs of yesteryear. Although the concept for this album came about around 2007, it was whilst studying for a Bachelor of Media Arts (Honours) degree at Waikato Institute of Technology, Hamilton, New Zealand, in 2010 that this project got off the ground and became what you see before you now. ****On the CD are the arrangements themselves as well as MP3 backing tracks (no vocal), lead sheets and chord sheets for each hymn, a video and photos.**** Backing tracks with backing vocals are available on request. "Taste and see that the Lord is good" Psalm 34:8 Bon appétit!- Shop: odax
- Price: 29.17 EUR excl. shipping
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