Carrie Newcomer - The Age of Possibility

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Music reviews of The Age of Possibility

Music Review: 'Age of Possibility' is possibly Carrie's best album...
Rating: 5 Stars

"Tornado Alley," which is musically quite similar to "Take it Around Again" (from "My True Name") addresses a similiar theme of taking chances in an unstable and unpredictable world. Carrie once introduced this song in concert by posing the question of why anyone would live in a place where disaster can suddenly drop out of the sky. The tornadoes of the Midwest become a metaphor for everything in our life that is unpredictable; still, we choose to go forward with our lives despite the danger around us.

My favorite song on this album that has not previously appeared on her concert album, "Bare to the Bone," is "Threads," a song inspired by Carol Shields' "The Stone Diaries." As Carrie explains in the liner notes, it is a song about connections. The melody is as textured and rich a tapestry as the threads of friendship that Carrie recounts in the song.

"Sparrow," "Bare to the Bone," "Just Like Downtown," and "Anything Like Wings," spare and lovely on her concert album, are enhanced by their arrangements on "Age of Possibility." The crisp interlacing of the piano and guitar on "Bare to the Bone" are like a fine setting of a jewel- showing the beauty of Carrie's lyrics without overpowering them.

"Sparrow" is possibly the best song Carrie has ever written. It is almost prayer-like in its language, though it speaks of human love: "I have searched all the wise and the unwise places/ I have known the price of passion/ And what solitude can buy/ But it was you I was looking for in all those faces/ Always you I was hoping for/ When I closed my eyes."

The only disappointment on this album is "It's Not Okay." It's not a bad song, it just seems to be somewhat muddled in its direction. It's hard to figure out what has happened to trigger the ranting in the song, and the lyrics lack the originality of most of Carrie's work. But there is so much good material on this album, it does not take away from the whole.

Altogether, this is an excellent album. Carrie Newcomer's generosity (both literal and spiritual- she donates a portion of her proceeds to worthy causes), warmth, and wisdom, comes through clear in this album. In the final track of the album, "This Too Will Pass," Carrie sings reassuringly: "We're more tender than some would believe/ And we still find it hard to ask for what we need."

I find myself returning again and again to Carrie's music, for inspiration, and for reassurance. Carrie's voice is a comfort, and through her words and music, she gives us, her listeners, the understanding and beauty that we all need.

Description of The Age of Possibility

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• Music > Styles
• Folk
• Pop
• Rock