|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
 cd Oct 10, 2008
cd is great. "It's ok to let go now" is a real tear jerker.her voice makes the rest of the songs are a pleasure to hear also.
Just Jan Sep 23, 2008
Crystal is an up and coming terrific star. I have seen her in person and couldn't wait to buy her CD. She has a genuine voice and captures you with her songs. This CD is going to be just one of many.
 Decent beginning, room for improvement Sep 16, 2008
This CD sounds fine, but it's not inspired. The listener isn't left feeling enthused to listen to it again. The songs are a little too bland and safe; the music's not invigorating. Fine to listen to in the background; not something that commands the listener's attention. Shawanda has room for improvement and I think she has the ability to do so. She's got a clear, strong voice and a unique background. She has the potential to inspire interest. I hope she does so.
Excellent CD - I love her voice! Sep 14, 2008
This is a fantastic CD. I fell in love with her voice after hearing her first single, "You Can Let Go." I think this lady is bound for great things in country music!
3 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Shawanda's "Dawn" Bright But Lacks Originality Aug 20, 2008
Prime Cuts: You Can Let Go Now, Tender Side, Your Cheating Heart
One of the glorious advancement of country music is the expansion of its racial boundaries. Of late, country radio has embraced African-American Rissi Palmer and now we have Native American Shawanda being signed to a major label in Nashville. For starters, Shawnda is a born full-blooded Ojibwe on the Wikwemikong reserve on Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada. Apparently her last name means "dawn of a new day," which has been capitalized here as the album title and track. With such a weal of cultural heritage, one would wish Shawanda or producer Scott Hendericks could weave more of her background into the texture and fabric of these songs giving her an edge over the countless newbies Nashville churns out each year. Rather, Shawanda has chosen the tried route of releasing another cookie cutter country pop offering that the Hills, Rimes and McBrides are putting out. Vocally, Shawanda isn't a laureate; though it'll be fair to say she does have a full-bodied range that just the right grit to command one's attention assiduously.
Given that this is a Nashville pop-country CD, there are still a few shiny moments: most deserving of mention is the lead single "You Can Let Go Now." A tearjerker of a ballad, "You Can Let Go Now" chronicles the precious moments in a girl's life whereby her daddy has to painfully let her go. Shawanda's slightly gravel vocals with just the right cracks is the perfect vehicle to carry the heartfelt emotions of this gorgeous song. Given that the CD consists mostly of rousers, the gentle 70s styled balladry of "Tender Side" is welcomed. Most telling is the opener "Evolution," a biographical tale of the musical influences that have helped shape Shawanda. Interestingly, Shawanda name drops Patsy Cline and Aretha Franklin as her influences. Definitely echoes of the Queen of soul can be heard on the bluesy "What Do I Have to Do" which tells of a woman desperately trying to get her hubby's attention in a tepid relationship.
Most familiar to country fans would be Shawanda's take of Hank Williams' "Your Cheating Heart." Shawanda's almost Kim Carnes-like growl and her in-your face confrontational demeanor actually works, giving this classic an august read so befitting of its lyrics. However, the rest of the CD verge on the ordinary. Surrounding with cascading guitars and pounding drums, "I Need a Man" is as insightful as the title suggests. Despite the delightful banjo picking opening lines of "You Can't Take It Back," the song quickly morphs into one of those non-descript pop anthems.
By falling into the temptation of trying to secure singles ready to be embraced by radio, "Dawn of a New Day" becomes pretty predictable. Yet what is most infuriating is Shawanda's background and her experiences are enough to spurn album loads of songs that could make her a name of her own. Nevertheless, as a Nashpop CD, there are its moments. Good but not essential.
|
| | |
