Joanna McMeikan: CD - 'Breaking the Habit'

Imagine a melancholy, cold winter evening, light years from the bustle and rush of the holidays. Early dark and stripped down living, simple strings and strummed guitar. That's one side of Joanna McMeikan's Breaking the Habit, an arresting, multi-dimensional CD of original lyrics and music, one of the gifts 2004 gave that you may not have opened yet.

The first track, 'Again' brought to mind shades of Roseanne Cash, but track two, 'January Snow', and eleven offer a voice of crystal bell clarity backed by piano; it took a while to make the memory connection, and then it clicked: Judy Collins, but with a more sultry sensibility, one of the here and now. I also heard elements of Kate Bush and Ten Thousand Maniacs. That's how varied this CD is. It's the perfect companion to a hot bubble bath on a freezing winter night. Simple as candellight, just on the verge of makeout music but sometimes a little too real for romance (One song, 'Rainbow' references that little pill, Prozac). Some tracks are dancable with faint echoes of disco and 80s synth pop. The percussion is inspired, from sultry hand drums to the slightest tick, tick in a bare ballad. Satisfyingly well-balanced, this album fits the current saying: 'it's all good.'

Joanna McMeikan's website, which includes this CD, can be found at: http://www.joannamcmeikan.com .

The Musicians on this CD are: Joanna McMeikan lead vocals, backing vocals, piano, keyboards, string arrangement, recorder, bass; Mario Maisonnave additional keyboards, additional percussion, drum and loop programming, brass arrangement, cello arrangement, acoustic guitar; Todd Wolf drums; Tommy Sanchez guitars;.Pekka Rintala guitars, additional bass;.Danny Contreras electric guitars;.Frank Arellano bass;..Jorge Lopez bass;..Martha Lippi cello;..Kari Nelson backing vocals;..Matt Pavolaitis additional keyboards and drum programming

Breaking the HabitCD credits go to: LYRICS, MUSIC BY: Joanna McMeikan (except Again, music by Joanna McMeikan and Matt

Pavolaitis/Laughable Tragedy music by Joanna McMeikan and Pekka Rintala);..PRODUCED BY: Mario Maisonnave and Joanna McMeikan;..MIXED AND MASTERED BY: Mario Maisonnave @ Atomik Tracks;..RECORDED BY: Mario Maisonnave, Matt Pavolaitis and Jim Wirt.

Review by L. A. Madison