Search - Maria Mckee :: Late December

It is your DESTINE to buy this cd!

Pete | 04/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are unfamiliar with Maria McKee, you should first know that she is very diverse. You may love one song and hate the next. You may love one cd and want to return another. That does not fault Maria, but it does fault the listener, because I can hardly think of any music she has made that could be considered bad. Her music breathes life and energy, passion and poetry. I am not as big a fan of her 1996 album "Life is Sweet," but it has wonderful moments regardless and I couldn't fathom considering it a bad album. The problem with Maria's career has little to do with her own output and much more to do with her fanbase and the terror of modern radio. She began as a country, rock, pop singer. When she delved into Nine Inch Nails territory in 1996 and then into rock opera and theatrics in 2003, and headlong into folk music in 2006, many who had liked her before turned their heads away and sneered, and commented on forums like this one, that she was doomed if she didn't go directly back to her roots. Life is based on change, and so is Maria's musical output, which creates great anticipation for every new album. It is unfortunate that so much of her original fanbase is so closed minded, and that the much broader fanbase she could have, if this were a kinder world with more intelligent human beings, have not heard any of her amazing newer music, and probably have not even heard of her at all.

Is there a better cd than "Late December" that has been released this year? I have great doubt that there is. And yet, "Hannah Montana" gets a Billboard #1 when Maria McKee will not crack the Top 200.

If you asked me where to start with your Maria collection, I'd ask you to listen to the audio clips and see which clips most appeal to your sense of style. Then I'd ask you to listen to the cd you purchase all week long, until you're addicted to it, and then go for any of the others. Some of them take a little time to adjust to, but each and every one is rewarding. If you asked me my favorite, I'd be tempted to tell you "High Dive."

But you wanted to know about "Late December" and I've rambled on about her career. The reason I've done so, is because "Late December" is so good, so very, very good, so lovely and fun and exciting and sweet, that it is an outrage that she is not one of the best known singers out there today. Maria's finest work has revealed itself in the past 4 years. She has been so diligent in putting it out there - 3 studio albums and 2 live albums in the past 4 years, after a previous 7 year dry spell of nothing. There was a time when I'd worried she'd retired, and then - poof! She released 3 of the best cds I have heard in my life. They go together like a masterpiece trio.



Has a sweeter song than "Power On, Little Star" been released this year? This decade? My eyes welled up with emotion. I'm afraid of overplaying it, because it is magic.



The title track is motown-gospel, and whatever else it is, and the first song of this nature she's had since "I'm Gonna Soothe You." I hope she does more in the future because they linger in the heart ("More than a Heart Can Hold" from her first solo cd was another great one). The gentle interludes of her poetry-rap are terrific. I get "shivering shoulders" hearing this song.



I'm glad the Amazon review mentioned that "Destine" was reminiscent of Queen, because those were my thoughts too. It is also reminiscent of the High Dive song "My Friend Foe". "My Friend Foe," a huge, theatrical, piano hitting marvel, is one of my favorite Maria songs, and I'm glad it now has this partner. Funny, that this song was the one that least engaged me at first. I thought the name was corny, because I don't know a "Destine" and it didn't do much for me. I opened my mind to the possibility that "Destine" is a code word for destiny - not a big stretch, and I love it so much that I'm now even okay with the weird high pitched, shoveled-in and let's get the heck out of here, ending.



The first time I heard "A Good Heart" was on the 2006 acoustic tour. I didn't understand why it should be a single from this album (if it is to be one) until I heard it spiced up on the wonderful studio version.



I will let you discover the rest for yourself, and not feel a bit of hesitation in telling you to buy the cd.



Now if only I can figure out this whole "Cat in the Wall" scenario.



GREAT STUFF and I hope more is on the way. She's on a roll.





































"

Maria does it again...and again...and again...and again

Jeff Miller | toronto, canada | 04/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ahhhhh Maria. Still not doing what everyone expects of you. Why doesn't she play this? Why doesn't she record that? Why doesn't each new record sound like the last one? How do we solve a problem like Maria?



You little diva indeed.



In my opinion, the new album is flippin' brilliant. My favourite so far, I think. Truly. Amazing. No Other Way to Love You may be the most gorgeously perfect pop song she's ever recorded. I am 3 months sober and Power On, Little Star leaves me shaking and in tears. I LOVE Destine - killer hook in it. Would love to see her play it live. And Starving Pretty is rich and full and melodic and...again...Maria breaks my heart. Did I mention Late December? Uhhh, goosebumps. The end of a relationship? The end of a career? The end of a life? But still, the hope of starting over. Maria sees the bleakness but holds onto hope.



This woman is a genius. I cannot believe we have been blessed with five (count 'em, five) Maria albums since 2003. Around year 2000, I seriously wondered if we would ever hear from her again. I believe that LD is a more accomplished, cohesive album than High Dive. The production is stellar and exciting and Maria seems to understand now that, no matter what, her voice needs to stay front and center in the mix. She and Jim have done a remarkable job with this one.



Thank you, Maria, for a lifetime of music and passion and hope.



Life is sweet.



Caution: Rant ahead:

Why? Why? Why does every song/album that Maria records HAVE to be compared to some other sound/singer/genre, blah, blah, blah? Has the world not figured out yet that she is her very own universe, guided by her own insane muse? It's obvious. It's been obvious for a long time. She's not interested in doing the same thing twice. Ever. Let's all get over it. She's never doing an album of Bob Dylan covers. Ain't gonna happen! Record critics are truly out-to-lunch. Thank God for Thom Jurek!



"

A Sheer Sonic Delight

J. Gemmill | Oreland, PA USA | 04/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As my wife can attest, I am a mark for all things Maria - and have been since buying that first Lone Justice album back in 1985. Yes, of course, through the years she's evolved, exploring different musical terrains and challenging us fans - as all artists should. As far as this album: it's a sheer sonic delight that echoes the likes of David Bowie, the Drifters, Laura Nyro, Queen, Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen and many others. Yet, as with all of her albums, the end result is 100-percent Maria: eccentric, heartfelt, theatrical and ... just plain addictive.



The finger-snapping title cut, about love on its last legs - or maybe just the fear of such ("baby, when can we start over?") - conjures NYC in winter with its bed of Nyro-like vocal flourishes and "Walk on the Wild Side"-esque spoken-word interludes. Another favorite: "No Other Way to Love You," which builds from its "On Broadway"-like intro to become ... well, I already used the word "addictive," but I'll use it again. It's a sweeping, hypnotic song about giving one's self over to love in total: "Want to talk about your wild horses/and the strength of 100 men/Attila and all his forces/couldn't keep me away from him ...." You'll feel Maria's sweat flying from the speakers, guaranteed. (Check out the guitar work on it, too.)



Other highlights: her cover of her own "A Good Heart," originally a hit for Feargal Sharkey way back when; the aching "My First Night without You"; the utterly poetic, operatic rocker "One Eye on the Sky (One Eye on the Grave)," in which she demonstrates why she's sometimes called "a punk Edith Piaf"; and the closing "Starving Pretty," in which she sings a song for starving artists everywhere: "lean on me, baby/we're going to make it/we're paperthin/we're gonna win...." The most challenging song, I suppose, is the oddball "Cat in the Wall" - but (as often is the case with Maria) there's a metaphor at play there. In a way, it's a bit like having a cat knead you - it's wonderful even though the tips of its claws dig a bit into the skin.



Of course, having singled out those seven songs, I feel compelled to single out the other five. I won't but, suffice it to say, "Late December" is an album that demands repeated plays; and, as all great albums, gets better with each listen."