Armed with one of the best voices in music, Maria McKee's career has been a confounding and confusing series of starts and stops, beginning with her impressive debut with her old band Lone Justice and ending, during the last few years, with big hits overseas but little impact in the U.S. The first Lone Justice album is still one of my favorites but almost everything McKee has done since then--and there's not been a lot--has lacked focus. Life is Sweet is the latest salvo in the saga of Ms. McKee and it will muddle the situation even more.
There are brilliant parts to this self-produced records (particularly on tunes like "Scarlover" and the title track), but there are so many different things going on in the recording that those high points are compromised. This album is like a five course dinner with three extra courses thrown in--you can digest it all but it would go down easier if you weren't so stuffed. McKee's style as a producer competes against her skills as a singer: She starts off most songs with her voice solo, then adds everything but the kitchen sink by the end (strings, walls of guitar, anything handy). There are parts of this record that are so overproduced it honestly reminded me of the soundtrack to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's not what McKee does best.
On the songs where McKee spotlights her powerful pipes--"Life is Sweet" is one--her production helps create an intimacy and mood not found on any of her other records. But even on the title track she can't help but throwing in a few other ideas until the song becomes another tune titled "Afterlife." With a sensibility that truly is sweet, one can only hope that Maria McKee will eventually produce an album that lives up to her potential. Despite some true moments of brilliance, Life Is Sweet is both sweet and sour.
Comments ()