Search - Cindy Morgan :: Listen

Listen Indeed

Michael Janke | San Diego, CA | 11/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In LISTEN, long gone are the dance/pop days of Cindy's REAL LIFE debut, and even the smooth R&B laced pop of UNDER THE WATERFALL is absent. In their place we find what can only be described as a stunning marriage of the earthy groove of producer Brent Bourgeois and Cindy's trademark songwriting, vocals, and piano roots. People, pop music doesn't get much more intelligent than this. While in the past her upbeat cuts were well performed, her brightest moments have always been her most simple ballads. LISTEN takes that strength as its foundation and upon it builds an architectural masterpiece, musically speaking. Piano-driven for the most part, you will also find some beautiful orchestration in many of the songs. Cindy wrote/co-wrote every song on the record, and is the sole piano player on the project.What stands out after hearing the CD is just how beautifully each song flows into the next. Clearly, a conscious effort was made to craft a cohesive album, for every song is a natural, perfect progression to the next. So instead of a CD full of 12 singles, LISTEN is more like a 12 part oratorio. Many times you don't even realize the track has changed, the transition is so pure. While Cindy has always been noted for her songwriting, the departure of long-time collaborator Mark Hammond has seemed to provide the push that has taken her writing to the next level. Never have her lyrics been more engaging. Un-content to spout rhetoric or pat answers, Cindy instead deals honestly with problems and life in a manner that is both revealing and poetic. And it is in large part because of her writing that LISTEN stands out as Cindy's finest work, and one of the best Christian albums of the 90's. She'd have to dig far and deep to someday top this record. Five+ stars."

A peak in Cindy's career, and one of the ten best Christian

Steve Forsyth | Denton, TX USA | 01/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I listen to a very wide range of music, from metal, to classical, to pop, to alternative - so for me to make the above statement is saying something.



Cindy Morgan began her career as a run-of-the-mill Pop Princess for the Christian set. But it was her early song, "I WILL BE FREE" that first showed her potential as a true siren of song. Two albums later, LISTEN would become an early pinnacle of her career and, as much as I love THE LOVING KIND and POSTCARDS,

one that would prove hard to top.



But, with LISTEN, you really almost need no further work from her. It is hard to imagine that she could ever put together another album so succintly clear, mature, and outspoken with purpose and meaning. Early in the album, the song NEED sets Cindy MILES apart from all of her former work, and proves that Christian music can hold its own among the world of recorded music. But it is the penultimate track, GRAVITY that may be Cindy's single best effort to date. The importance of the words is perfectly matched by the weight of the orchestration, and I often find myself playing this track over and over.



Just listening to these tracks again recently, I am struck anew at how outstanding this album is musically, completely blowing away any of her peers in Christian music!



All told, this was a phenomenal, and unfortunately, unique album from Cindy. While THE LOVING KIND was a fantastic concept-album follow up, I am still waiting for her to get back to the brilliance of LISTEN.

"

Hands down, this is Cindy's best.

Edward M. Curtis | Morgantown, WV USA | 07/12/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow. This album leaves everything Cindy did before in the dust. "Listen" is so packed with memorable songs, I wouldn't be surprised if it accounts for half the songs on her upcoming Greatest Hits CD (due this fall). But perhaps the greatest triumph of this album is the title track. The lyric was written decades earlier by Cindy's father, who gave up his dream of recording professionally to keep his family in North Carolina. The music execs probably laughed in his face. Cova had the last laugh on the music execs, however, as Cindy turned his inspirational song into a jazz-flavored #1 hit on the Christian charts."