|
| A
Voice and Lyrics That Move the Soul & Heals the Spirit |
 Sarah
McLachlan |
| Sarah
McLachlan - Books |
|
Fumbling
Towards Ecstasy
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| Pre-Lilith Fair, McLachlan
had critical acclaim and a cult following but was otherwise just another
hard working female singer/songwrite -- one who wasn't blasting down doors
with overt sexuality or popping along in front of a male Svengali. Similar
in their emotional urgency to her more recent work but delightfully less
polished, these folk-rock songs are surprising gems. If not for McLachlan's
poignant vocals, lyrics like "Your love is better than ice cream" (on "Ice
Cream") would sound childishly absurd (especially alongside deeper material
like "Hold On"), but here they're given just as much respect as the weightier
issues she explores. A great album to accompany your moments of introspection.
--Rebecca Wallwork |
The
Freedom Sessions [EP] [ENHANCED CD]
Sarah
McLachlan
|
| An off-the-cuff curio for McLachlan's
growing legion of fans. Recorded late-night and live at Pierre Marchand's
Studio Nomade in the Laurentians, these loose, acoustic versions of songs
off Fumbling Towards Ecstasy bring the artist to the fore and--like P.J.
Harvey's 8-Track Demos--often deliver a stronger emotional punch than the
album counterparts. "Plenty," "Elsewhere," and "Hold On" are shivery standouts,
while the cover of Tom Waits's "Ol' 55&qiot; is good, sloppy fun. Jeff
Bateman |
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Solace
- Sarah McLachlan
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| Solace, Nova Scotian
McLachlan's second album, is considerably more mature and musically sophisticated
than her 1988 debut, the promising if limited Touch. In fact, this disc
is a must-have for McLachlan fans whose first encounter with her work was
with her extremely popular later releases, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy and
Surfacing. R. Robinson |
|
Surfacing
[ENHANCED CD]
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| There's the requisite number
of gorgeously melodic and deeply heartfelt songs here--the addictive "Sweet
Surrender," the Hollywood style ballad "I Love You," the sad, profound
"Angel," the flat-out spectacular "Witness." McLachlan's not prolific,
but this short, bittersweet album proves again that what she and producer
Pierre Marchand do release is cut from the finest of cloth. --Jeff Bateman |
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Remixed
[IMPORT]
Sarah
McLachlan
|
| Import-only comp. packed with
nine of the best dance mixes by top mixers such as Hybrid, DJ Tiesto, Rollo,
BT, Rabbit In The Moon & William Orbit, of nine of the Canadian supers
star's best songs, including 'Sweet Surrender', 'I Love You', 'Angel',
'Possession', 'Hold On' and Delerium's smash 'Silence'. 2001 release. |
|
Mirrorball
[LIVE]
Sarah
McLachlan
|
| McLachlan's warmly expressive
voice is still at the epicenter of her performances. She roams through
these 14 songs with agile ease, riding the rails between singing for dramatic
arena effect--huskily growling, airily trilling--and knowing what to play
down with her sensually controlled crooning (witness such gems as Fumbling's
title song and "Good Enough"). Overall, McLachlan's vocals match the heavily
percussive intensity of her band and the build of her backing vocalists,
producing a more spacious sound than the precise pitch rendered on her
studio recordings. --Paige La Grone |
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Touch
- Sarah McLachlan
|
| This is an impressive first
effort, though maybe too earnest in its attempt to break new ground in
otherwise familiar terrain of late-'80s synthesized textures. Touch was
released in 1988. This disc endures as a fine remembrance of the early
days, when McLachlan was a fresh-eyed mystic songbird whose passions were
not yet realized on an international scale. |
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|
Lilith
Fair: A Celebration Of Women In Music (Series), Various Artists - Rock,
Sarah McLachlan
If you need something to pump you
up for the upcoming second edition of Sarah McLachlan's all-female touring
festival, Lilith Fair: A Celebration of Women in Music is the ticket. This
two-disc compilation features 25 live cuts from the inaugural trip. On
first spin, it's hard not to notice the range and sheer power of the vocals
here. |
Lilith Fair, Volume
II
Lilith
Fair: A Celebration Of Women In Music (Series),
Sarah
McLachlan
Similar in scope to Lilith Fair:
A
Celebration of Women in Music,
which captures the inaugural tour, the 1998 festival is presented on volumes
2 and 3, with each disc available separately this time around. Volume 2
offers a large dose of the folksy acoustic fare we've come to associate
with. |
Lilith Fair, Volume
III
Lilith
Fair: A Celebration Of Women In Music (Series),
Sarah
McLachlan
A document of the 1998 tour, Lilith
Fair: A Celebration of Women in Music, Vol.3 is thus far the most lively
and affecting recording of Sarah McLachlan's summer festival. From the
percussive chop-socky blues of Emmylou Harris's "Deeper Well" to Holly
Cole's richly intoned "Onion Girl" to Sixpence None the Richer's quirky
take on the
pop hit "Kiss Me" to Rebekah's
sparsely searing "Little Black Girl," the women presented here are fierce,
fiery, and fabulously fruitful. |
Rarities,
B-Sides, and Other Stuff [IMPORT]
Sarah
McLachlan
The Sarah McLachlan cottage industry
rolls with Rarities.
This disc of hard-to-finds
and extended remixes offers some choice morsels for casual fans and a whole
plateful for the faithful. The Freedom Sessions proved that McLachlan can
do some nice stuff with a cover tune, and she offers a sweet handful here.
Fellow Canadians Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell get lushed-out respectively
with "Song For A Winter's Night" and "Blue," and McLachlan also works her
magic with XTC's "Dear God" and the Billie Holiday classic "Gloomy Sunday."
Each is dark, but engaging, like so much of McLachlan's own material, including
this set's brooding "Full of Grace" and "I Will Remember You." --Michael
Ruby |
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