Album Review: Shelley Rogers "Dreaming Awake"

[Steven Timm]

Shelley Rogers is another pretty face who decided to put out an album.
It is available on Blonde Vinyl records. This is one album where the cover
is definitely more interesting than the music.

This is not to say that the music is bad. It's quite mellow and
easy-listening type of stuff, with words dealing mainly with
relationships.
She writes all her own songs and does quite a bit of her own acoustic guitar.
But frankly, I don't remember a single word on the album a day after
listening to it. Maybe this is because I fell asleep before it was done
playing.

I'm not sure what market this is heading for, but if it is the same
market as Ashley Cleveland and Sam Phillips, this record is in big
trouble because they
reach it much better.

Steve's rating: One thistle on the scale of -5 to 5.

[Michael David Toth]

In article <cdfQVnm00...@andrew.cmu.edu> st...@andrew.cmu.edu (Steven Timm) writes:
>Shelley Rogers is another pretty face who decided to put out an album.
>It is available on Blonde Vinyl records. This is one album where the cover
>is definitely more interesting than the music.
>
>This is not to say that the music is bad. It's quite mellow and
>easy-listening type of stuff, with words dealing mainly with
>relationships.

>I'm not sure what market this is heading for, but if it is the same

>market as Ashley Cleveland and Sam Phillips, this record is in big
>trouble because they
reach it much better.
>

I was rather disappointed in it as well. Maybe it's just that the
middle-of-the-road "Christian radio sound" is so far out of my current
tastes, I could not appreciate it. She's backed by a really
intimidating group of musicians, snagged from The Choir, DA, LSU,
Breakfast With Amy, et. al., and it's really difficult to imagine these
people doing a BORING album. But with a couple listens, I found it
still very uninteresting.

But the people at the label are rather proud of it, especially the 5th
song (forget the title) with the Judy Collins kinda sound. I'm
definitely holding onto my copy primarily as a Mike Knott completest...

They're targeting the Christian radio market that isn't giving the other
Blonde Vinyl albums airplay. So far, Windy Lyre is their big seller,
and their trying to match/better her sales with other more accessable
sounds to keep the bills paid. Fluffy, for instance, sold respectably
considering the small market for it, but it doesn't keep a label in
business.

Windy Lyre wasn't a bad album, with a few rather strong songs. And I
liked Acoustic Shack too. Both of them are sort of pop with a bite to
it, a sort of alternative edge. I'd say Acoustic Shack is more geared
toward the Sam Phillips/Ashley Cleveland set, BTW. Or probably more
accurately, toward the Kim Hill set.

I don't really listen to "top 40" CCM radio anymore. Has anyone heard
Windy Lyre, Acoustic Shack, or Shelley Rodgers get much airplay?

-Michael.