Regular Columnists

Artist: Kathy Compton
Album: "Recovering Humans"
CD Review: With a strong, expressive voice, a wide palette of sounds and some happening grooves, Kathy Compton shows herself to be a talented performer with promise to become a leading voice in the field.

There is great variety on the CD. The three strongest songs are "Good American", a fairly straight-ahead rocker, "The Big Song", showing the influences of tango and musical theater, and "Demons" which is, well, kinda weird.

In some places, however, the songwriting could use some work. For example, "The First Time", the opening track, features a strong groove and melody, but also has sections that don't quite seem to fit, and the song feels too short and unfinished.

Nonetheless, Compton is definitely headed in the right direction. While her music shows the influences of Joni Mitchell, Melissa Ethridge, Sheryl Crow and more, she doesn't sound too much like any one else. As she continues to evolve, Kathy Compton should be achieving more and more prominence.

You can find more information on Kathy by going to her website at www.kathycompton.com.