Search - Sloan Wainwright :: Rediscovery

Full Moon in My Eyes

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 06/17/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sloan Wainwright's 2008 disc is a set of cover songs. Sloan has frequently recorded tracks by other artists on her CDs, but "Rediscovery" is the first complete set of covers from her, as far as I'm aware. Three tracks are my favorites. Sloan gently takes Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush" and embraces it tenderly, "I was lying in a burned out basement with the full moon in my eyes, I was hoping for replacement when the sun burst through the sky." As a singer, Sloan mixes seemingly divergent qualities. She has the crystal clear diction and tone of Judy Collins, a rocking side that mirrors Janis Joplin and a blues streak that wails. On Bob Dylan's "Meet Me in the Morning" from his classic Blood on the Tracks CD of 1975, she melts and enhances what was one of the less heralded tracks from the set. She wails with Stephen Murphy's blazing electric blues lead, "You know I even outran those hound dogs; Honey, you know I'm your love." This is a golden moment. Sloan takes John Lennon's early solo classic "Love" and sings it against a spare arrangement which makes the simple melody brim with emotion, "Love is free, free is love; Love is living, living love; Love is needing to be loved." Other excellent tracks on the set are Bob Dylan's "Every Grain of Sand," Nick Drake's "Time of No Reply," and George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass." The only track that doesn't resonate for me is the famous Johnny Cash tune "Ring of Fire." Like Allison Moorer's cover of the tune on her Mockingbird set, it just doesn't have the bite of the original, which I miss. However, Sloan Wainwright is an incredible singer. This is a set that will play many times in my changer. Enjoy!"