Search - Miranda Lee Richards :: Herethereafter (Dig)

Startling... The CD Sheryl Crow Wishes She Could Make Next

Paul Allaer | Cincinnati | 11/22/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow... Where did Miranda Lee Richards come from with this stunning debut album? This supposed former model (I confess I've never heard her name before) blows onto the music scene with an album that is polished and hauntingly beautiful. The CD is reminiscent of Sheryl Crow's debut album (think "Run, Baby, Run"-style).From the opening notes of "The Beginner", Miranda Lee Richards takes us onto a journey of despair, love, hope, and life. Among the stand-out tracks are "Folkin' Hell", "I Know What It's Like" (With lyrics such as "I Know What It's Like/I've Been here Before/Please Believe Me/You Know It Breaks My Heart/The Way You Are So Untrusting") and "Seven Years". The album also contains a nice cover of the Stones' "Dandelion", quite appropriate given the overall dreamy atmosphere of the album, as well as "The Landscape", its lyrics based on the French poet Charles Baudelaire's poem of the same name.In all respects, this is a fantastic album, and I don't know why it has not gathered more attention since its release in August. I suspect that if Sheryl Crow has heard this album, she did a touble-take and wondered how she herself can come up with something as good for her next release. By all means, BUY THIS."

Pleasant surprise

Rick DiMarzo | 01/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My wife brought home a sampler CD that had 'The Beginner' track on it and I was intrigued. Not enough to risk full price, so I bought this CD used. I was surprised both at the depth and at the range of this debut offering. Most of the songs are either written or co-written by Miranda Lee Richards. Two adapted from poetry. She plays instruments and does vocal tracks. Each track has its owns merits, and I am comfortable putting it on shuffle for long periods (something I don't do with many CDs I own). Her voice is expressive and yet does not come of as chic or falsetto. I don't quite know who or what to compare her to-- she defies comparison or categorization. For some reason, despite repeated attempts, my local progressive radio station refuses to take any interest in playing her. Their indifference is puzzling since they play many quite obscure and even local artists.Overall, this CD is just very enjoyable listening. Not really what I expected-- much better, in fact."

Eagerly anticipated...

bungalow-will | IOWA! | 09/18/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"...but slightly disappointing. This was one that I couldn't wait to get my hands on. I was intrigued by her past collaboration with the Brian Jonestown Massacre, and I had heard lots of good things about Richards. Her voice is pretty much as billed, similar to Hope Sandoval's in that it has that same "breathy " quality, but with a bit of a country lilt. Very pleasant.
The songs are well written, particularly considering this is a debut, and a good portion of the material was penned by Richards herself. I also like when a new artist chooses an interesting song to cover-it gives you a better sense of where they are coming from musically. Richards does just that -the album includes a nifty redo of the Stones' 'Dandelion'(which I still don't understand why the hell was not on Satanic Majesties...swap it for 'Sing this all together' and I say that album's a bona fide classic-but I digress).
But despite these positives, and many listens, this album just hasn't grown on me. I think it's just a little too slickly produced for my liking-there are lots of studio bells and whistles going on, including some 'hip-hop' flavored drum machine beats, which I wasn't really expecting. I guess with the kind of indie pedigree that Richards had, I was expecting something more along the lines of Tara Jane Oneil or Chan Marshall, but this album sounds more like Sara McClachlan or Jewel.
All in all, this is not a bad album, just not my bag o' tricks. It just feels so....uh,... adult contemporary."