Jann Arden - Love Is the Only Soldier

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Music reviews of Love Is the Only Soldier

Music Review: Jann amazes
Rating: 5 Stars

Someone mentioned in another review that they felt Jann was drifting in the wrong direction. I think she got back on track with "Love is the Only Soldier". While I really liked "Blood Red Cherry", it will undoubtedly go down in history as Jann's "experimental" album.

I don't think Jann is capable of writing a bad song. I've liked everything she's put out so far, and I see no signs of that stopping here.

Her humor is intact on songs like "Only One":

If I come back
If I find you there
I'm calling on my daddy
And he'll kill you I swear

And "If You Loved Me":

If you loved me, I would not need my drunken friends
And if you loved me, my loneliness for sure would end.

"Anna Rebecca" is a great song about loss. You don't know the details, but you know she's singing about a friendship that crumbled:

Remember that December night
Talking ourselves into day
Waving goodbye from the back of a cab
Please remember me that way

"When You Left Me" is quite possibly one of her saddest songs:

When you left me nothing mattered
All my life undone
Only stillness, only quiet
Not one ray of sun

It's an absolutely gorgeous song. Very haunting. Some people can't seem to tolerate sad songs. I don't get depressed by them. I dig them. They mellow me out in some strange way. There's nothing like a sad song to get you to thinking about your own life in an introspective manner. I think they can be very therapeutic. They are for me, in any case.

"Fighting for the World" is another great melancholy tune. She sings from the perspective of a family persisitng through the holidays while a loved one is away in the armed services.

"Love is the Only Soldier" is the first single and is one of my favorite songs. It doesn't seem an obvious choice for a single, but I love this song. It's a great showcase for her songwriting and vocals, and I think the arrangement is excellent. She really soars on the chorus:

Hide me inside your heart let me wash away
Hold me beneath your body all night and day
I pray that the morning comes and with me you'll stay
Hide me inside your heart let me wash away

There's a lot to like here with this album. I rank it very highly in my Jann Arden collection, which consists of everything she's ever released, even the rare and hard to find stuff, singles, etc. I'm such a big fan, I only wish she had more exposure in the US. I hope to catch her on this tour. I saw her during the symphony tour in Winnipeg and it was a phenomenal show.

Description of Love Is the Only Soldier

Folk CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop
• Rock