I Hear Your Voice--Its like An Angel Sighing--Astrid Williamson

Cocaine and Chocolate Won't Keep You Alive
But They Might Fill You Up When You Feel Deprived

This review is of the first solo album of ex-Goya Dress singer Astrid Williamson from 1998. I was led to this CD from a rave review in the Big Takeover magazine quite a while ago. I was immediately captivated by this Shetland-born musician's wonderful singing voice. Then I took notice of her keyboard prowess, and the great songs she wrote. Oh, yeah, and she is flat out beautiful too, like a fashion model. You might wonder why she isn't a household name, I mean, how could you market a performer like this?

I think on some level, though all the songs are good, a misfire was made--two things are being done at once here, and the contrast hurts the album. The lyrics are heartfelt, introspective, and the songs are well put together, but I think that someone had the idea that these songs would be a big hit in the clubs. A lot of the arrangements have a dance beat to them, and it doesn't seem to work that well, seems not to gibe with the material. I liked the music so much that I picked up some of the singles to this, and they contained some uncluttered acoustic demos of some of the album tracks and I find them preferable. For example, the song Hozanna's double tracked vocals a little distant and cold on the album, but the demo version has so much more heart, more like a gospel song. Sing For Me & I Am The Boy For You sound so much better as introspective ballads than arrangements, accentuating the strengths of her as a performer and changing the entire vibe of the songs. You can even hear the squeak of the piano bench on some of the demos.

The Sight of You In Rococo Blue--
I Have No Choice,  I Hear Your Voice

But I don't mean to completely detract from the overall  high quality of the album. The music is just too good to be wrecked. The three songs I mentioned previously are excellent. Everyone's Waiting, World At Your Feet, If I Loved You, & Say What You Mean are terrific also. At the end there is an untitled bonus track with just her on piano that sounds like a song from a Broadway musical. I wish that the whole record could have been done in this manner.

She has put out three good album subsequently and Goya Dress' Rooms is definitely due for a reissue.