Couple days ago, mid-afternoon TV time, I walked to the bathroom and heard Marky exclaim from the living room, "Oh, awsome!" Imagining he was reacting to a text message, I ignored it. When I returned and grabbed the remote to switch to Jeopardy, he stopped me, "Didn't you hear? Alice Smith is going to be on Ellen. Isn't that the girl you like?"
It took a lot of prodding from my online radio station, but I finally gave in and listened to her debut effort, "For Lovers, Dreamers & Me". It's my favorite album of last year. She is a groovy young singer/pianist who uses 100% of her sultry voice. Moans, groans, howls, growls, the whole nine yards. I love her. Everyone who asks me what I am listening to gets this spiel. I have heard that not all of the songs are original, but her arrangements are really special. Bassy piano (such as the intro of "Gary Song") and intricate backing vocals (sometimes gurgling like Aquaman, in "Woodstock") embellish her sound beautifully. Her timbre shifts from sexy to goofy to downright musically intelligent ("Love Endeavor") from track to track. Artists like this understandably have a tough time showcasing the full spectrum of their talent in one song. In college, the rule was "Loud Fast and High" when choosing a piece for a scholarship jury or a judge who wasn't familiar with your repertoire. I resented that rule, but it worked. Also, Julie Delpy's character in Before Sunrise (a movie I hate intensely), put it well when she said something like "I hate it when men tell me to smile. Like me smiling will make them feel better about themselves." It's the only thing I like about that movie. I hate it when people tell me to smile. Oooh... hate it. But, it works. I promise I'll eventually get to why I am bringing up that turd of a movie.
Alice Smith's recent appearance on "Ellen" was her network debut. She picked a good song, "Dreams". It isn't fast or high, but it gets pretty damn loud. After only gazing at a caricature on the cover of her album, I eagerly anticipated the living, breathing chanteuse. And there she was. Without her piano. Her guitarist morosely plucked the otherwise sexy undulating piano part. For the life of me, I can't think of a good reason for her not to show off the fact that she plays and sings. Strike two, the sighing backup vocals were absent as well. At the approach of my network debut, I would hope that my manager would advise me to hire a couple breathy chicks to back me. I know it's a little specific, but her original sighs turned into Alanis-esque yodels. Here's the last thing that just ruined the performance for me: The girl never smiled. Didn't make any facial expression whatsoever. Until Ellen came up to greet her afterward. Then she just lit up like a Christmas tree. What expression. I'm not saying she should have smiled through this dark song, but she could have used more body language than a corpse. Here's why: I'm sure that going to an Alice Smith concert is like riding an emotional sine wave, but when you only have one song to show everyone what you've got, you better show them ALL YOU GOT! I do have a compliment to share, though. When she pumped up her volume, she pumped it effortlessly, and to a degree I didn't think was possible. Damn. That girl has some pipes.
Okay. Alice, if you are reading this, I am your fan for life. I just want everyone else to be, too. Friends who I have suggested Alice to, I hope you give Alice a try, even though her "Ellen" appearance was incongruent with her album.
