Several years ago, there wouldn't have been a place for an Amanda Marshall in the pages of a 'zine such as Consumable. The top 40 market would have absorbed her whole and spat her back out to the public. However, with "top 40" becoming a retirement home for the crossover R&B music, a whole new genre of music developed - adult alternative. And that's where Marshall's eponymously titled debut perfectly fits.
This 23 year old Canadian singer has already wowed audiences when opening for Jeff Healey and Tom Cochrane and is currently opening for Tears for Fears. Imagine Amy Grant completely losing her Christian roots and gaining just a touch of rock and soul along the way, a la Melissa Etheridge, and you'll have a good idea of how Amanda Marshall sounds. The first single, "Birmingham", is already garnering huge radio requests; this reviewer suspects that "Fall From Grace" and "Let It Rain", with their similar bluesy/adult alternative sound, will follow a similar course.
A powerful backup group, including music veterans such as Kenny Aronoff and T-Bone Wolk, perfectly let Marshall's voice carry the album. Her raspy, soulful voice is clearly the most valuable instrument in the repertoire, and Ms. Marshall utilizes it to its fullest.
The only critical complaint with Amanda Marshall is the songwriting; Marshall only wrote or co-wrote three of the songs, and the others sometimes fall short of providing the vehicle to launch Amanda into superstardom. The songs are *good* - but only because of the woman singing them; subsequent followups should bring in a bevy of talented songwriters wishing to be associated with Marshall. Amanda Marshall is indeed a strong debut for a talented vocalist.
