You're My Sole Ace

Overall Album Score: 8.2 out of 10

Boy! In a big way, Solace marks an improvement from her debut Touch, but in an even bigger way Solace is worse.

Touch was an album where Sarah McLachlan was trying to find her sound ... she tried several things on that album. Although, it wasn't radically diverse or anything, it did show a fair deal of experimentation. Solace is where McLachlan had already chosen the style that she wanted to go with. And she does it THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE ALBUM!!!!

Touch also strikes me as an album that showed optimism and that 'looking toward a brighter future' feel to it. Now that we've gotten to the future (Solace), it's just not that exciting.

But ... hey! This is supposed to be a positive review, isn't it! Dudddddeeeeeee! Yes! Solace is one of those albums that'll take you quite awhile to get into, and when you do it can be rather rewarding. It reminds me actually of reading a good, big novel (like something by Iris Murdoch, for instance). I admittedly don't read too many novels, but I used to! And the best novels seem to be the ones that I don't really like reading when I start it, but as I actually get to the meat of the book, it turns into something much more rewarding than your average John Grisham outing. Now, Solace isn't a novel! I do want my music (as well as my novels) to be slightly more exciting than this! Just be aware that it took me a good while to get into this. And, I still don't think I did fully.

The real make-it-or-break-it quality of Sarah McLachlan is the songs' atmosphere. The combination of her lovely, haunting voice, her keen sense of songwriting, and the alluring arrangements are the essence of a good Sarah McLachlan song. On most of these tracks, these qualities are strong. Apart from "Into the Fire," these qualities are not strong enough to make the songs all that memorable or fun. I'd say the experience of sitting through this album was "nice" but not really enjoyable. At the same time, I have to appreciate this album, because McLachlan obviously put a lot of thought and gave most of these songs quite a lot of depth.

Overall Album Score: 8.2 out of 10 (I feel so awful now! Clearly, Solace is where Sarah McLachlan rooted herself down and produce a much more solidly founded album than her more wishy-washy Touch album. But listening to it, I get the exact same feeling that I got a few years ago when I entered the museum of Kansas History. But this is a good album.)

Average Song Score: 8.0 (A good set of songs! They get a little bit boring at the end, but all in all this is quite solid! "Into the Fire" is EASILY the best song on here.)

Album Tilt: 8.0 (Yes, this was a good effort and a solid album. I want to like it, even though I can't seem to.)

Artist Rating: 8.5 (This strikes me as being a more of an "artistic" achievement than McLachlan's previous album ... even though that one was more enjoyable.)

Track Reviews

Drawn to the Rhythm 8/10

I like it! It's kind of a dynamic song but it's not really memorable (but nothing is really that memorable on this whole album). The melody isn't hook deadly or anything. But I like it! That's all that matters! The song is lovely, it is thoughtful, and best of all it proves that McLachlan has a keen and innovative sense of taste when it comes to arrangements. It's not pure gold, but it's pure good.

Into the Fire 9.5/10

This one has a nice groove to it! (Yep, McLachlan is a good groove-writer, too.) I think the melody here is quite a bit stronger on this one. And, I like this one quite a lot, too! Again ... I hate to mention that this isn't a memorable song at all, really. But it's solid. And I enjoy it entirely as I'm listening to it.

The Path of Thorns 8/10

Whoah ... she's got a good voice. It really shines on this one, although that might only be because nothing else really does! Just the same, songs like this, they need to have a strong vocal performance! The melody is strong, too ... and so is the instrumentation, but this time it's in a more subtle way. The voice has got to shiiiiiine ... shine ooooooooon ... for nearly six minutes ...

I Will Not Forget You 8/10

Hey! "The Path of Thorns" is over! ... It was the song that never ends, it goes on and on my friends ... (whoah, there's an old camp song that you probably don't want stuck in your head). Heaven knows "I Will Not Forget You" won't be stuck in your head quite infectiously! (I tied that in beautifully, didn't I?) Although, this is PERFECTLY solid and PERFECTLY everything. Sarah McLachlan is a solid artist! This one is only *this close* to achieving perfect beauty, too! ... but not quite. I would have to be more awestruck whilst listening to it. This is rather lengthy, also. But it is another nice, thoughtful song.

Lost 8/10

Now, this *is* lovely! McLachlan's alluring vocal performance combined with the light and atmospheric instrumentation does lend this a bit of beauty. I really don't like chorus, though ... and there's also a rather dull, quiet interlude in here. I don't know ... I'm just not altogether impressed with this one. Apart from some nice'n'lovely moments (which probably lasts for about 45 seconds overall), this one is rather boring. It's not lengthy, though! That's a good thing!

Back Door Man 8.5/10

This is louder ... and for that reason alone is probably why this one is a standout. The melody is good, but it's not necessarily better than the average tune on here. The instrumentation isn't worshipfully-impressive ... ... but it's all solid. And that chorus is nice, loud, and soaring. Another wonderful vocal performance!

Shelter 7.5/10

Just a tiny bit sloppier here, but it's still all-in-all a good song! The melody is a little bit ... hmmmm ... but that doesn't matter as much as the instrumentation. It's not as good as it has been! It sounds like it was brashly put together ... making this song not as alluring as some of the other tracks have been. Even McLachlan's performance doesn't seem to be quite as solid. Oh well. It's still pretty good.

Black 8/10

This one starts out very dull and minimal (songs like these sometimes signify that the artist has run out of ideas). Just the same, it starts to pick up pace after a minute or so, and it does get more interesting. NEVERTHELESS, it still manages to be somewhat boring even after it picks up pace! Grr! It's still utterly solid, though, and likable. It's so likable, even, that I was debating VERY STRONGLY about giving this one an 8.5. But ... it's still kinda boring.

Home 7.5/10

This is BOOOOOOOOOOORING! I WANT TO GO HOME!!!!!!!!! (Albeit it sports another fine vocal performance from McLachlan ... it might be among the bestest in this whole album ... but that's only the chorus. The rest is perfectly dull. But, man! You gotta love that voice!)

Mercy 7/10

McLachlan is a nice girl! She has a more pleasant voice than anybody I know! But ... HOLY MOLY ... Sarah McLachlan fans must be known for their high attention spans! I can sit here and bask in these songs' beauty (or near-beauty), but I'm not really listening to it. I'm just basking in it. It's like when I bask in the Sun. I don't *look* at the Sun, but I enjoy its presence. If I were to look at the sun, I'd go blind. Likewise, if I were to actually listen to this song, I'd go deaf. ... Oh damn, that analogy didn't work out too well! Oh well. This one is particularly boring because it's just a choral thing with just a very quiet organ/synth type thing in the background. Big yawn.

Wear Your Love Like Heaven 8.5/10

Well, at least she chooses to end this album with something that's quite a bit more beautiful and it almost makes me forget that I just sat through "Mercy." The chorus is really nice and kind of uplifting, but it repeats too much! Oh well! If you're going to repeat too much, it had might as well be uplifting!

Be my sole ace and send me your comments about this album here!