Life ain’t easy if you’re a singer and your dad is a musical icon. Critics can’t resist comparing you to your famous father, and stepping out of his shadow is nearly impossible. Just ask Natalie Cole or Jakob Dylan.
Van Morrison penned two of the songs on 7 Wishes, the second album from his daughter Shana. He also contributes a short vocal cameo and harmonica solo to one of those tracks, “Sometimes We Cry”, which appeared on his 1997 album The Healing Game. (The other cut is also one Van has recorded: “Naked In The Jungle”, from 1998’s The Philosopher’s Stone.)
Do not be misled by Shana Morrison’s ancestry or the fact that this album is on the generally respected Vanguard label. This is an hour’s worth of glossy, high-sheen, folk-rock schlock. A sample lyric, from the tune “St. Christopher”: “I will be your angel that was sent from up above/You will give me all I need when we make sweet love.”
Cliches, faux soul, and generic soft rock abound. If you already own the best albums by Paula Cole, Shawn Colvin, Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan and Natalie Merchant, why would you want a disc that doesn’t even measure up to those standards?