Search - Kim Richey :: Rise

Too many judges here

Michael G Morris | 12/05/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's the language, the word-play, the lyrical content of Kim Richey's songs that make her music so distinctive. She's been backed up on every album by top-notch musicians who have given her songs the musical energy to lift them off the ground, but it's Kim who makes this music happen. There is a tension between her clever and literate lyrics, in which she is always moving toward a brighter future no matter how bitter the past, and her voice, which for all of its warmth and brightness is shaded with a wisp of melancholy. Some of her songs have a musical hook that grabs like velcro; sometimes the touch is more subtle, and you won't get it if you're not listening.Each of her albums are different; together they show a singer-songwriter who is able to put the emphasis on a different syllable of the altcountryfolkpoprock label according to where she is in her personal and artistic development. There's no reason she couldn't be marketed like any other 'superstar'; she has more talent than most of them. So there's some other reason she hasn't attained superstar status, and it most likely has to do with the integrity of her work. The album reviews on this site alone show that many people prefer only one or two of her albums, and those listeners want to see more like THAT one. 'Rise' is unlikely to appeal to those fans who like her debut album only, or who only like 'Bittersweet' or 'Glimmer'. This is an album for those who are willing to allow an artist the opportunity to evolve.'Rise' represents a more subtly nuanced Richey, with arrangements that give the feeling of having been carefully constructed, rather than merely written. Overall, 'Rise' is more introspective, and suggests that Kim is approaching her maturity with the feeling of serenity that comes from lessons learned. With songs like the beautiful 'A Place Called Home', 'Fading', and 'Hard to Say Goodbye', Kim looks longingly back on the past even as she dreams of the future.

I'm lucky enough to live in Austin, the place Kim calls home. Her two most recent performances in town didn't even sell out the small campus venues. However, those of us who attended were treated to two superb shows, both as different from one another as her albums are. Her band was behind her note for note, beat for beat, supporting but never overpowering her. Her performances were filled with so many deft and subtle musical touches that most listeners sat there in slack-jawed wonder at the expression of artistry. When she concluded her first performance with a mesmerizing "Reel Me In", I don't think anyone in the audience had taken a breath for five minutes. Her encore performance a month later in the intimate setting of the Cactus Cafe, backed only by her bassist and percussionist, revealed within a more spare musical framework the richness of meaning in her songs. And her voice just grows on ya... If you can't be entertained by movies unless they're filled with special effects and explosions, you're not gonna be entertained by this album. So don't buy it, and don't bother with her road shows, either. It makes the experience more intimate for the rest of us, and we won't have to listen to your cell-phone ring in the middle of her performance."

A hauntingly beautiful cd

Michael G Morris | 01/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the first cd by Kim Richey I have purchased. I have had good luck buying Lost Highway releases in the past and this cd had received good reviews in EW. One song that I have played over and over is "Fading". It brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. Although I wouldn't really categorize it as a story song, it evokes the most vivid mental pictures of a love affair at its pinnacle and at its end.I think fans of Norah Jones and/or fans of Allison Moorer would like Kim Richey's voice and style."