If you love Michelle Mays work, as I do, this is a must add just for her arrangements and vocals.   If you have a group and are looking for something different and upbeat to add to your Beltane Celebrations, this is an excellent choice to work with. Either way, this is a great CD. mafoster

(Boudica has written a wonderful and indepth review, please visit her websites to read the full version)

http://www.zodiacbistro.com/
http://www.cuttingedgevoices.com
http://www.ambientvisions.com

Also, TWPT interviewed me last year, please go to http://www.twpt.com to read the interview!

In a recent review by noted Llewellyn author, Carl Neal, he had this to say about Michelle’s work and Fireleap. “Wow. Once again I am stunned by a CD. Track after track is moving and beautiful. The first two tracks alone are worth the price of admission. Somehow, every CD you create manages to bring tears to my eyes and this one is no exception. The sheer joy and energy of the music transports me away from mundane life. Michelle, you are the greatest musical treasure this state has offered the world since Woody Guthrie. The vocals, instrumentals and mixing are all superb. Track 7, "Dream Weavers", is particularly stunning. It's complex and simple at the same time. It is beauty that only true musical talent could unleash. Thanks Michelle - you're a true gem.”

"She's like coffee and chocolate together...smooth, sweet, sensual - with an energizing kick! Her easy going folk - pop sound is attractive and entertaining, mixing rich guitars with alluring keyboards and rock-steady percussion. Michelle has developed a smooth and sensual sound that is as incessant as the tide - you cannot help being pulled along with the flow of the music. Her husky voiced arrangements are captivating and soothing, complimented by rich harmonies and the sonic tapestries of the keyboards. Michelle's vocals are compelling, warm and vibrant, drawing the listener deep into each song. Her voice conveys a sense of balance and self-knowledge. It is dynamic and versatile, one minute a teacher, then a lost lover, a sister and friend, a priestess in high ritual.    Michelle has done an excellent job in working with her band. The group is tight and talented, offering great harmony vocals and exceptional counterpoint in their instrumentation. Ernie Tulls does a remarkable job on the keys, creating an intricate foundation, yet never overreaching or obscuring the subtleties of the song.    While Michelle is beautiful and talented, there is a deeper force evident in her music. This woman writes from a place of spiritual inspiration. Often teaching, but never preaching, Michelle writes of the Divine Feminine force and its' place in our lives. Her songs burn with an inner heat that warms the listener like a good campfire. Passion smolders in the beat and the voice, but a clarity of vision is expressed by her words. Insightful and well crafted, her original songs are folk anthems for a wise and gentle Goddess. Most highly recommended." 3/4/2002

Michelle has a warm rich voice that make you think of smooth velvet. Her music is wonderful. With concepts of healing and love. A must listen. She is one of our very favorites. A true Goddess of light and music."

Some of the most intriguing work emerging from artists today is being created through a synthesis of rediscovered ancient roots, with an innovative eye to the future. These courageous visionaries stand on a powerful spiritual base from which a unique and new voice can be created. To Michelle Mays’ new release, The Golden Section, is added her own Cherokee heritage, which permeates the style of her story-telling lyrics, and results in an added, unusual overall layer. The most dramatic example is in ‘Selu’, a contemporary ballad rejoicing in the ancient story of the Cherokee Earth/Corn Goddess. The renowned Cherokee Tommy Wildcat soars through the ballad on the wings of his ethereal flute.

Michelle’s well-modulated, expressive voice is at its finest on this CD, whether soothingly resolute in the telling of the stories, gentle but authoritative in the sacred words of Selu, or downright torchy in the English folk tune ‘Gently Johnny’. A body can’t be still when hearing the rhythms of ‘The Maiden Song’, a celebratory dance of womanhood, with its invoking power of chant. ‘Where Love Is’ embodies a sung invitation to enter the mystical, and concludes with a much needed plea for love to undergird our mutual understanding.

True to its title, the Golden Section integrates all the songs, revealing a common unifying theme of the circle/spiral of life and appreciation of the sacred. ‘The Fifth Element’ sums it all up in its clever use of lyrics which themselves spin through the elements. Upon these are built the foundation of the Golden Section. This is the spiraling pattern that permeates creation, from the kernels on an ear of corn, to the shape of the galaxy. Given a repertoire that boasts of this origin, how can one go wrong? Altogether a highly enjoyable and well-crafted work.