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Tuesday, March 3, 2009
TRACE BALIN - GLORY ROAD / 2000 / DISCOGRAPHY / BIOGRAPHY / REVIEWS
THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(13-TRACKS)
1-EARTHBOUND BLUES
2-GLORY ROAD
3-WHEN I GET TO HEAVEN
4-MENTION MY NAME
5-HEART IN YOUR HANDS
6-EVERYONE WILL KNOW
7-FAITH IS A TRAVELING THING
8-ALL ABOARD
9-A BETTER WAY
10-DADDY BETCHA KNOW
11-AIN'T GONE N GIVE UP ON LOVE
12-FOR ALL HE'S WORTH
13-MY STRENGTH MY SONG
TRACE BALIN-OUT OF THE BLUE-1991
THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(8-TRACKS)
1-MY HEART IS SET ON YOU
2-ANSWER TO PRAYER
3-THIS IS WHERE
4-OUT OF THE BLUE
5-THE LOVE WE KNOW
6-MEET YOU IN THE GARDEN
7-WALK IT OUT
8-YOU WERE MY LAST HOPE
TRACE BALIN-HERE AND NOW-1989
THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(10-TRACKS)
1-HERE AND NOW
2-WELL DONE
3-IF I DON'T HAVE LOVE
4-EYE OF THE HURRICAN
5-NEVER LET IT BE SAID
6-WHEN THE WELL RUNS DRY
7-JESUS AT THE HEART
8-JESUS BETWEEN YOU AND ME
9-ALL HAIL THE POWER
10-WHY ME?
TRACY BALIN-CHAMPIONS-1988
THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(10-TRACKS)
1-CHAMPIONS
2-ALL I WANNA DO
3-ONLY FOR YOU
4-WE NEED EACH OTHER
5-WE ARE AN ARMY
6-WALK IN THE SPIRIT
7-TAKE ME THERE
8-ROCK THESE RAFTERS
9-USE ME JESUS
10-I DON'T DESERVE YOUR LOVE
REVIEW ALBUMS:
(http://www.tracebalin.com/bio.php)
At first glance a simple selection of songs written by friends of Trace which she uses her accomplished pop/rock voice to present. However Trace herself shares writing credits on most of the tracks and in spite of the five (count 'em) different production teams the whole thing does hang together as an album. Her voice is more at home with bluesy guitar accompaniment ("Changes") where she is more simply just the singer in a decent r'n'b band but it also stands up to the test of larger, "Lead Me On" ~ like productions as in the opener "Stranger". The lyrics are well thought out with the obligatory scriptural references (does anyone ever look these up?), with one new thought about us being someone else's "Answer To Prayer". Perhaps these albums proves that too many cooks don't necessarily spoil the broth.Trace Balin has "a voice so unique that it demands attention". That's quite a statement to live up to, but this time they might just be right. Her voice could be described as a hybrid of Amy Grant and Bonny (Lang-ford) Tyler, strange but true. The albums take some getting into - on first play it sounded all too like that "Contemporary Christian" speciality, badly beefed-up ballads with a few guitar licks so as to "Reach The Kids". But there really is much more to this set. What initially sounded like wimpy rock actually turns out to be a rather clever platform for Trace's voice and perhaps more importantly the lyrics go way beyond standard evange-speak. Although none of the tracks leap out and grab your attention there's a synergy that gives the album an appeal that is greater that the sum of the individual tracks. Plus without getting heavy there's a real spirituality about these performances. This is not an album for all occasions. I found that I was most receptive to it whilst driving to and from work, it soothed the soul rather than blasted the hassles and aggravations. Worth taking the time to get into.I think Europe, or more particularly Holland, or more particularly still the Dutch Christian music scene, deserve our heartfelt thanks for giving Trace the support base to record this magnificent album. For as her curate's egg albums of old prove the Nashville CCM industry can be a thoughtless cloning machine and it took Europe's warm appreciation of the gospel blues to encourage Trace and her guitarist/Bassman husband Joel to produce this magnificent album. With a style at times uncannily like an early Bonnie Rait, Trace with gritty, soulful assurance rasps, growls and sweetly hollers her way through a set of excellent songs (mostly co-written by Trace). The ballad "Faith Is A Travelin' Thing" seems a little out of place in this context but it's a beauty none-the-less. Fine singing, hot playing (guitarist Pat Buchanan is a clear maestro) and a supremely honest, enriching album(http://www.holymetalrob.com/)