When its good, its very good! (On A Clear Night - Missy Higgins)

Member Name: Ashes2ashez

Product:	On A Clear Night - Missy Higgins
Date:	09/09/09 (9 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: some great acoustic songs, variation of style and tempo, wonderful voice.

Disadvantages: some very average songs and a lack of that special something that she has live.

I discovered Missy Higgins completely by mistake. I was looking for something different on youtube and came across a live acoustic session she did in a radio studio. Her voice captivated me so much that I went and got the album right away.
I have mixed feelings about ON a Clear Night. No doubt, her vocals are stunning as ever and her jazz roots are right out there which I like. Also, there are a few songs on there which will be favourites with me for quite some time. "Where I stood" is a really beautiful piano based ballad with lyrics that bring a tear to my eye. "Secret" and "peachy" are guitar based tracks with a real funky feel to them. Lots of attitude and a fresh sound.
I was however a little disappointed with the fact that I invariably prefer her songs live to recorded. Some artists seem to lose some of their sparkle when you lock them in a recording booth and unfortunately, Missy would seem to be one of these.
The only way I can really describe it is like the difference in a river and a water feature in someone's lounge.
Over all, it's a lovely album and very well executed. Great lyrics and of course, her vocals are fab. Her voice has that velvet smoky sound you may associate with singers like Nora jones but with an edge that reminds me strongly of Gwen Stefani in the No Doubt days.
There are one or two tracks that have the blah blah sound of padding to me but that's to be expected with nine out of ten albums after all.
I'd say that roughly half of the tracks are either breathtakingly beautiful or funky with good energy. The other half are a bit generic. Nice enough but not a talking point at a party.

Summary: Certainly worth a listen. the good tracks are worth the ordinary ones.