“60 Years On…” 12-11-25 playlist Hr.2
*Jennifer Parsignault – Orbit Again
Dionne Warwick – Anyone Who Had A Heart
*Jennifer Parsignault – On The Outside
Carly Simon – That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be
*Jennifer Parsignault – Fragile
The Carpenters – Superstar
Carole King – So Far Away
First Aid Kit – Fireworks
Leslie Gore – You Don’t Own Me
Chrissie Hynde – I’m Not In Love (feat. Brandon Flowers)
Linda Ronstadt – Desperado
Roberta Flack – The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
* IMC ‘Zine #68s Nov. ’04 Feature CD: Jennifer Parsignault – “From The Dark”
27 years ago on Sept. 1, 1998 I founded IndepenDisc Music Club.
To Celebrate, during hour #2, we will revisit all the IndepenDisc Monthly Feature CDs/Artists from 1998 – 2013.
Issue #68s Nov. ’04 Supplement
Jennifer Parsignault – From The Dark
From The Dark by Jennifer Parsignault comes to us 3 years after her last CD, “Oh, My.” That CD, Featured here in Aug. of ’01, was a study in the religious aspects of love and relationships and the mortal/moral confines and conflicts found within. While not totally abandoning this line of thought/reasoning, Jennifer has settled in and refined her outlook and commentary to that centered on and around love. For what one single emotion has ever spawned more musical artistic-ness than that of amore?
Sticking with the Pure Adult Contemporary style, Jennifer delivers a 9 song CD that gathers around her stunningly beautiful vocals of amazing range (a cross between Kate Bush and Tori Amos) and her masterful piano and keyboard arrangements (drawing to mind Elton John and Keith Emerson), and is accented by her virtuoso violin talent. She accompanies herself on all the backing and harmony vocals, set within marvelously meticulous arrangements and full studio productions that show a true artistic touch to the craft of mastering. Balanced between full backing band accompaniment of songs (that would be right at home in the concert hall or on the dance floor) and sparse piano ballad, nightclub, torch songs, From The Dark pulls its range from the cannons of such luminaries as Streisand, Minelli, and Midler, while becoming everything Linda Ronstadt always wanted to be.
“Orbit Again” opens the CD and lays the ground work with a contemporary love song that questions the uncertainty of a new love relationship while awash in the splendor of it, as evidenced through solid studio polish and the ability of the keyboards and vocals to emit the emotional outpouring of the narrator, while the Sax stamps it all with eloquence.
Normally, Adult Contemporary is not this reviewer’s style, but when a prodigy like Jennifer wins us over, it becomes much more than a guilty pleasure; it becomes an artistic statement that can not easily be overlooked. Take the Jewel box tinkering that starts “On The Outside.” It perfectly portrays the innocence of a young girl being swept off her feet by someone who is not worthy of her love. It is the swooning orchestration and hallowed backing vocals that converge to exemplify the helpless/hopeless-ness of the internal struggle she’s dealing with. It is a classic example of Adult Contemporary and the beauty of the composition shines through to our soul.
Rich in metaphors, deep in feelings, From The Dark touches all the right notes found throughout the wide range of the relationships of love: from the good to the bad, from the crushing, regretted, and disdained to the glorious, cherished and pontifical. It is the title track that brings it all home. As Jennifer’s piano is carried along by the organ we hear the tale of love to the rescue, a gospel rendition of praise to the glory of love and how it can carry us past all the heartbreak and loss that can occur due to love itself. “I’ll soar from my heart to peace of mind,” is more than sung; it is vocal enchantment to the ultimate degree, it makes us explode with the glory of the moment, it makes us want to shout Halleluiah! Full choir vocals reside within the arrangement adding an amazing grace reserved for Sunday mornings, yet reach a pinnacle that moves us to the final soaring vocal refrain of “Make me believe, make me believe, make me believe, make me believe.” And we are pulled from the dark.
We believe rock never felt as beautiful as it does when love is pulled From The Dark.
– G.Gone
