Allison Sattinger - Self Titled debut

Where to begin..... Well, I believe I will start at the strongest point, the voice! Allison Sattinger has an incredibly strong voice, vocals laden with eloquent phrasing and power, that also approach with an amazing subtlety. Allison Sattinger has a voice that could calm the most erratic soul, and at times be able to invoke passion and desire into her listeners. On her debut self titled CD, Allison Sattinger proves she has a great talent that falls just a bit short of the big time. 

I mentioned her voice first, and next I will say the musicianship. Allison Sattinger started playing piano and studying voice in high school, and then caught a bit of the acting bug, but to our benefit she also realized that music was her true calling. An honest performer that doesn't portray something she isn't, put simply, Allison plays her music and it fits her well, although I feel a bit more expression is due. The vocals are strong, music is wondrous, but it's the songs that leave me a bit short. Each song is good on it's own merit, but when you put all the tracks that are on this seven song offering, it just seems that I am not hearing the best Allison Sattinger has to offer. It still feels like she is still holding some of herself back.

As far as the tracks on the CD, they are strong enough and good enough for a first offering, but I would just say simply that a bit more of a mix would compliment and show me that the down-tempo card is not the only one she can play. This is an awesome hypnotic pseudo-folk CD that is more geared to the coffee house than the concert stage. More intimate settings would be perfect for this style, but why stop there, the obvious soul and feeling that Allison Sattinger has would do well with a few more up-tempo music so we don't get lost in one emotion. The lyrics are at times intense, that makes for well proportioned tracks, but the tempo is awesome but in larger doses seems to be a bit of a downer on even the brighter tracks.

So you see, I really like Allison Sattinger and if she is happy playing to the smaller rooms, and not trying so much for success as she is for personal expression, she has begun to achieve her goal. What I really want to know is this enough for the spirit that obviously flows in this new songstress, well, some said of Norah Jones that she wouldn't have the success playing her style either. Bright tracks include "Pair Of Aces", "Miles", and "No More Room". Be looking for more from this intense young artist, I am sure there will be more musical growth in the future, but this is a good start, and well worth the price of access.

  ( 4.5 Stars out of 6 )

Play MP3 Clip of Allison Sattinger "Pair Of Aces"

Play MP3 Clip of Allison Sattinger "Miles"