It was the year 2000. I had just discovered UNKLE, James Lavelle’s ambitious trip hop project. It pulled together the likes of Radiohead’s Thom York and The Verve’s Richard Ashcroft and poured their ethereal caterwauling into a cauldron of wickedly dark hip hop grooves, brilliantly served up by DJ Shadow. I would sit in my room for hours, listening and re-listening to the album’s dark, inventive grooves. Usually by candlelight.

Okay, so I was a bit melodramatic in those days. Sue me.
The reason I mention all this is because Kathy Reynolds and Big Softy’s collaborative effort, “On the Inside,” sounds like a hidden track off of UNKLE’s Psience Fiction. The dark, synthy, rhythmic whomping of Alice Temple and DJ Shadow on “Bloodstain” and Reynolds’ “On The Inside” could have been separated at birth. These twins, however, are fraternal rather than identical. While “Bloodstain” deals out a main dish of faux-jazz guitar with a side of melancholy, “On The Inside” serves a slightly more sinister dish of slow phased, stereo-panned synthesizer riffs that seem to flutter over the headphones, never able to find a place to land. Reynolds’ vocals are almost menacing when she sings: “Black leather is your inside/cold ice runs in your veins/you look like anyone else/but we know deceit is your...” The rhyme here is so obvious that Reynolds chooses to leave it unspoken. Clever. “Make no mistake,” a sampled Reynolds quips, “it’s on the inside.”

Make no mistake, “On The Inside” is a deftly-crafted trip-hop jewel. I only wish Reynolds and Big Softy would produce more like this one.

ARTIST: KATHY REYNOLDS
SONG: * GOODBYE *
GENRE: R&B / LOVE SONGS
SIMILAR: UNIQUE
   

[ visit this artist ] [ more by this artist ] [ more in this genre ] [ more by this reviewer ]

Kathy Reynolds delivers some very sexy vocals on “~Goodbye~”, a song about love that was never meant to be. Reynolds’s vocal style has drawn comparisons to Grace Slick and Janice Joplin, but in my opinion, she’s got a sultry sound that’s all her own.

“~Goodbye~” features Jim Norris of ‘Thunder from the West’ http://www.mp3.com/ThunderFromTheWe performing all the music, and he does a solid job of capturing the sad feeling of the song. However, I would probably label this song Pop rather than Rhythm and Blues based on the musical style, as there is a lot of spacey sounding synth and electric guitars.

Lyrically, this song is also pretty solid, but a bit unimaginative. It’s almost more just the spoken words of a woman bidding her lover farewell than verse structure, but the words are beautiful none the less.

The only thing I would really change about this song is perhaps the music mix, which could be a little stronger; some of the nice background ambience gets a little lost in some parts of the song.

Overall, “~Goodbye~” is an outstanding effort. Great Job Kathy!

Charisma: 8.00
Technical Skill: 7.00
Structure: 7.00
Interest: 6.50
Lyrics: 6.00
Performance: 9.00
Arrangement: 6.00
Recording Quality: 7.50
Long Term Appeal: 5.50
OVERALL: 6.90

for Life Cycles~

Life Cycles..., December 11, 2003
Reviewer:    Gray Martin (LA, USA) - See all my reviews

"Life Cycles" is a folk song featuring Kathy's beautiful acoustic guitar playing and her mesmerizing singing. This is an example of solid songwriting, with it's lush chord progressions and melodies, as well as insightful lyrics. There is a sweetness, along with a certain bit of sadness & longing, that lingers throughout the tune...however, there seems to be an optimistic hopefulness hinted at throughout which remains unspoken, but felt. "Life Cycles" is typical of indie productions...it lacks the luster that a big budget studio can provide...nevertheless, the stark and honest performance shine through and reveal an excellent song and an excellent performance by a truly compelling artist.

for Goodbye~

More collab's are needed !!!, February 1, 2004
Reviewer:    "hal_horowitz_9" (P.A. USA) - See all my reviews

A few more songs like this and you can box and ship to every household. Great beat and sultry vocals make this a must listen to. Hope to hear more collab's from Jim and Kathy