Sarah Slean - Sarah Slean

If there's a through-line connecting Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, and Tori Amos, Sarah Slean may well be its next stop. This seven-song sampler introduces the Canadian artist to south-of-the-border audiences with a selection of tracks from her indie releases as well as her Atlantic debut. As such, it suggests an artist in transition: If earlier tracks like "High" and "Me and Jerome" sit a bit too comfortably in Amos's shadow, new tracks "Book Smart, Street Stupid" and a rerecorded "Eliot" find her adopting a cabaret-style vibrato of near-Edith Piaf proportions. But there's no denying the latter track's killer chorus or Slean's glorious multitracked vocals and piano work on the ethereal "John the 23rd." Uneven though it may be, Sarah Slean's U.S. debut shows she has the vocal, piano, and songwriting skills to reach well beyond her cult following. --Bill Forman Amazon.com

FAB!

It's a shame Sarah Slean's releases are very hard to get outside of Canada. This woman has many talents, and should get credit for that outside of her homeland. She writes very clever and interesting lyrics, is an amazing piano player, has a sixth sense for catchy and strong melodies, and is also blessed with a gorgeous voice. Though this release is an interesting introduction to her music (it introduced be to her as well), after hearing it, you will only want more, MORE! I recommend getting her albums in order of release, so Universe first, followed by Blue Parade, Night Bugs and Day One. This EP however, only has songs from the first three. Also: if you have the chance to see and hear her live, grab it! She's a fantastic live performer, and aside from that also a very nice person. ;) September 16, 2004

Rediscover that feeling

Remember when you heard Little Earthquakes for the first time?

Sarah Slean's sound is only somewhat like Tori's, but some of the magic will be the there as she truly is a beautiful artist. April 3, 2004

The Missing Link Between Sarah, Fiona, and Tori...

Like an off-broadway Sarah McLachlan, a drunken poet Fiona Apple, or little-orphan-Annie via Tori Amos... the comparisons to the other women of piano-rock are inevitable. On her debut American EP, a collection of both old and new material, Sarah Slean proves that the comparisons are warranted only because she is otherwise entirely indescribable.

Opener "Eliot" draws all of the above comparisons all by itself, combining a ragtimish upright-piano with Slean's unique voice for a wonderful spectrum of quiet verses and a crescendoing chorus. On "Book Smart Street Stupid" Sarah's voice quavers under its own weight, arresting in its utter fragility as it stays just ahead of the beat and a swaggering brass section in this theatrical turn of narrative songwriting.

"Sweet Ones" is the high point of her previously unreleased material, combining what would be an otherwise ethereal composition with a stomping monster beat -- it sounds like any of the aforementioned women covering David Bowie's "Oh You Pretty Things" for the benefit of a rowdy pub just a few blocks of Broadway. (Be careful, some earlier copies of the disc leave this gem off in favor of another song!)

"High" and "Twin Moon" draw from Sarah's last full length release Blue Parade, and they are less eccentrically realized than her newer material. "High" combines a circling Amos-like piano line with McLachlan's older style of ominous production. "Me & Jerome" and "John The 23rd" are even older, and even in their precociously intricate bare piano playing and alternatingly drawled and harmonious vocals they clearly exemplify all of the qualities that Slean has come to display on her newer efforts; they lack only the arrangements to back them up.

Sarah Slean would be a more captivating listen in the opposite order -- showing the clear progression of what could be a powerhouse new female pianist. As it is, this disc is front loaded with catchiness, but the back end is worth a listen as well. December 3, 2003

A good place to start.

...I recently had the pleasure of seeing Miss Slean in
concert at a lcal university, and though she kept
the audience waiting for nearly two hours, the final
result was well worth it. She gave the best small-
venue performance I have ever seen. Slean is a good
composer, a vibrant vocalist with a potent and
distinctive voice, and a great pianist and performer.
A clinging precocity in her work is all that prevents
her from rising head and shoulders above the other
artists to whom she is most often compared.

This little album's a good place to start, but there
are other Sarah Slean titles available that Amazon
has yet to offer. You'd be wise to seek them out. March 21, 2003

PHENOMENAL

As someone who is not easily impressed, I was thrilled when I discovered Sarah Slean. I have all of her CD's and there isn't a song that I don't love. Sarah is immensely talented and has a unique lyrical ability. Her music is melodic and haunting and her voice has an incomparable tone wrought with emotion. The songs Sarah composes are insightful and deal with several issues of importance both to herself and her listeners. Sarah's voice takes on a solid quality in some of her heavier songs like Habit, High and Weight and becomes forlorn and pensive in songs like John the 23rd and Blue Parade. Sarah even has some songs with a choral influence like Awake Soon and Pie Jesu. Her harmonies and intricate and her melodies are memorable. Sarah Slean is without a doubt the best Canadian import in years! February 12, 2003

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