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The View From Nowhere Lisa Hunter: On Solid Ground

The View From Nowhere Lisa Hunter: On Solid Ground image
Parent Issue
Month
August
Year
1996
Copyright
Creative Commons (Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share-alike)
Rights Held By
Agenda Publications
OCR Text

Oh what the hell. The new Lisa Hunter CD "Solid Ground" is out (Swing Sister Thursday Records) and it's such a heart-touching, artistic triumph of American pop music (not to mention the best Ann Arbor release in months) that I can' t help but babble on about its poetic grace, the way it moves the soul and how damn sweet all the goings-on sound to the ear. Even though (if you were paying attention last month) I did preview three tracks from this twelve-song collection, even I had not a clue how the final deal would tumout.

For starters, Lisa Hunter is coming from the singer/songwriter scheme of things. Her voice is quiet, soft and has lots in common with Suzanne Vega - at times she sings/talks, others she varies her range over three or four notes, while still other times she Iets go with a breathtaking soar of sounds and tones. Hunter sings every song like a lullaby - not in the sense of putting you at ease, but more like a love letter from an old friend. Smooth her voice is not. There are just enough blue notes, things slightly on edge to not make this easy pop radio listening.

The voice is cloud-like and drifting and shines when Hunter plays with a song hook or a chorus. Whether it's the "ah hey ha ha" on "The Day," the 1990's do wop-isms on the acapella "This Road" or the "I know I know" rift on "The Party," Ms. Hunter is a class vocalist who knows exactly what she wants to do as a singer. The foundation for this vocal is low-key folk pop guitar from Hunter and a rhythm section from Will Osler and Sonya Baker on drums and Rich Griffith on bass that fits perfectly with the voice. An all-star cast from the Ann ArborNew Folk Underground show up to make this not just a document of Lisa Hunter' s talents but a roundup of some of the what is happening on this scene. You get vocal colorings from the grand master Dick Siegel, Jo Serrapere and Chris Buhalis, nifty slide guitar on a couple of tracks from Rollie Tussing III, a visit from Odd Sox Kevin Allison and a laidback mandolĂ­n from K.C. Groves to boot, not to mention guitar and background help from ex -jane doe bandmate, the equally important and talented Audrey Becker (but that' s another artist for another column. . .).

So, there are lots of nice voices in town and loads of good playter, right? True. But. . .

What makes Lisa Hunter stand out, what makes "Solid Ground" a wonderful, if not classic work of musical entertainment, is the artist's sense of herself. It's the same dark territory of the soul, the trip and stumble down the ROAD OF LIFE and how there are good days, there are bad days. But, while these themes and occasions are boring as sin in the hands of a BAD artist, Hunter doesn't fall into this angst-filled quicksand. On the title track, on "Breathe" and "The Day," the search for figuring-it-all-out is almost like a Buddhist meditation. There's this air of "I'll be fine" on the path to the light that is almost religious. Hunter sings "I've got the Colorado River singing chorus to my tune," blending her musical art the natural world, and the search. And when the "ah hey ah ah ah" chorus hits (this sounds way better on the tune than it does in print, trust me...) it takes you into her heart and into her world.

But while Lisa Hunter seems to have it nailed sometimes, on tracks like "The Party" or "Fade to Black" the flash of enlightenment isn't to be found. For example, a line from "The Party" - "I am groping in a dark, secluded room" - could be referring to life or sex or fear of facing the world.

It's the quiet reflection, the sense of understanding the human soul (mostly), and the calm and peacefulness of Lisa Hunter's work that makes it a keeper. It's such a personal work that Hunter doesn't have to plunge a knife into the heart of the listener to make you pay attention. It's a subtle seduction and like all great pop music, you can' t tell it's hit you until it's too late to resist.

It's 1996 and where does this leave Lisa Hunter and "Solid Ground?" There is absolutely NO REASON why this CD can't be played on local rock radio. It matters not if it's WIQB-FM (who rarely play local stuff anymore) or CIDR-FM/The River. The songs, the voice, the recording quality are all first class and would fit in nicely with any hip, thoughtful radio format. I'll save my local-music-directors-are-idiots speech for another time and place. But one sure way to disprove this universally held belief would be to give Lisa Hunter - and her potential listeners - a shot in the regular rotation.

The View From Nowhere, AGENDA 220 S. Main, A2, MI. 48104 or e-mail: ALANNARBOR AOL.COM

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