Regular Columnists

Artist: Chick Pea
Album: "I Can Find My Way"
CD Review: Genre: Rock
Sounds Like: Natalie Imbruglia
Technical Grade: 6
Production/Musicianship Grade: 8
Commercial Value: 6
Overall Talent Level: 7
Songwriting Skills: 7
Performance Skill: 8
Best Songs: I Can Find My Way, Even Though You're Gone, Easy Target, I Know Too Much
Weakness: Needs more commercial songs
CD Review: Chic Pea, a.k.a., Lisa Sauro, is from Pound Ridge, New York. An appropriate city name for a female singer to live in who is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Because I am also a martial artist, I will speak freely (not sparringly) about this CD without fear of retaliation.

I listened to this project about twelve times in its entirety before I was able to come to my final conclusion: This project fluctuates between good and mediocre from beginning to end despite the strong vocal performances that Chic gives throughout the CD. Even though her limited vocal range is sometimes punctuated by her prominent nasality, she works what she has to the fullest.

Most of the songs on the project show potential, but simply don't have much (commercial) kick. The obvious radio track, and undisputed best song on the CD, is "I Can Find My Way." Why? Because it has great structure, melody and production. Of particular note would be the backing vocals and guitar playing.

The dilemma with this CD is not whether or not it is commercial; it is. It just isn't commercial enough from an industry standpoint. From a music listeners standpoint, it is the type of CD that could grow on you...if you have the opportunity to listen to it, say, twelve times or more.

Advice: I would love to hear more commercial material from you. I appreciate the production values of this CD, but they are minimized by subpar engineering/mastering. Go back to the drawing board and come up with more melodic songs like "I Can Find My Way," and your next project will be one powerful drop kick.

www.chicpea.com