CD Review
Sarah King When It All Goes Down Sarah King has just released her first solo album, on March 29th. She has an EP that came out in 2021, Which in itself is awesome. So let me tell you how I found out about Sarah King. I found a video of hers called Columbus Stockade Blues, when I heard her sing it was just mesmerizing. Definitely a voice that I have never heard before. So on with the review of When It All Goes Down, this album is not what I am accustomed to hearing from Sarah. But nevertheless, it is an outstanding album, both with the lyrics & music. My understanding is that Sarah was trying to create an album that brings out her musical talents from early on in her career. I really enjoyed that she mixes it up with the songs she wrote for this album, kept some of the darker songs like I am used to hearing her sing. Song number 1 “Lord Take My Soul”, love how she starts this song with her vocals (Bluesy Feel) and the guitar playing real slow so that you can hear the hands slide across strings, When I first heard this it really drew me in. Then it picks up after a few lines. The drum in this song really gives it the eerie feel that just brings the song to life… What I really love about this song is that we all have something in our life that we are not proud of. But we all know that in the end we will b saved once we suffer be in while living or after death. Song number 2 “Always An Almost” is one that I actually got to hear live before the album was recorded, I can relate to this song, and I think that most people can. We all try for something in life and a lot of time we don’t reach that goal. But we don’t give up, to be successful you really don’t always need to be #1. I love the melody on this song. Yes the beginning does have a Chris Stapleton feel to it. But for me it has a real strong rhythm to it that just makes you want to sway in your seat while listening to it (almost like a Waltz). Song number the 3 “When It All Goes Down” this is more of a rocker. This song starts out with some hard driving guitar riffs. Then the hard beat of the drums fills in the rest of the melody. Sarah’s vocals have a bit roughness to it. It’s cool how they have Sarah’s vocal with a little reverb & I think a bit of flanger. This is one of those song that is a hard-hitting song of standing up to the Devil. Like I said before, this is not the style of music that got me interested in Sarah. But she does a great job on it. Song number 4 “The Longest Night” It’s a bit more laid-back feel, It starts off with the 50’s style ballad. Then it begins to pick up a little. Really love listening to Sarah sing this song. Her vocals really flow well, This is a song about a strong woman letting her man know that it’s over. Song number 5 “Blame It On The Booze” Sarah has always had a way taking the scenario of a man being bad towards a woman, be it being about physical or mental abuse. This is one of those songs, she sings about the abuse that the woman is going thru and the man having a drinking problem. Sarah has a unique way of painting the scenarios in such a manner that you can almost feel what’s actual happening. So hence the title Blame it on the Booze, there is a line that says “I can come & help you if you just give me a Shout” is a great line showing that woman can help one another. Song number 6 “Stronger Than You Ever Knew” this song is a little bit softer side of Sarah. For me is kind of what drew me to Sarah. Like all of the other songs, the lyrics are always so well written, in this song has a positive message. Tell us to just be ourselves and that you will get stronger as you heal. Song number 7 “You Were Wrong About Me” this is a hard Bass driven song, I love how Sarah’s songs are about strong Women and that they start to see the truth. This song is just that, she realizes that he was wrong about her, and she is moving on… Sarah has the vocals style to really put the punch into these lyrics. You really get the feel of how the woman in the song feels. Song number 8 “Hey Hey, What Can I Do” is a Led Zepplin song. Now I have to say I am a fan, but not a big fan of Led Zepplin or of cover songs. I did get to hear a rough version of this song from Sarah’s cell phone. Now Sarah definitely has a way of taking a song and making it her own. That is why I really love this version of this classic song… Sarah brings new life to it by putting into a new perspective, by singing it from a woman-to-woman relationship. There is a video to this song, it is very well done. Song number 9 “Whiskey Thinking” this song is my favorite off the album, for a couple reasons. First is you just can’t go wrong with a song about Whiskey. Secondly Sarah has a real knack for writing & singing songs about Whiskey. As Sarah does in some of her songs she puts a twist on them, this is one of those songs. This has the woman drinking to try to kill the pain of the bad relationship. Sarah does this song in such a manner that she sings in a softer and slower vocals, her voice almost has that crackle sound to it like if it really is the woman that is being abuse is singing it. Also love the way that it’s just the piano in the song. Really Love this song. Sarah always starts her shows with a particular song to let people know what kind of singer she is, she calls it Sarah King 101, I think this song could be used for that. Song number 10 “Pretty Things” This song is definitely a Sarah King signature song. The reason I say this is because it has such a dark theme to it and Sarah vocal can really set this mood. With the eerie sound of the music and having Sarah’s vocal sounding like they are sang thru a tin can. It just set the mood for this chilling song of woman getting revenge. Song number 11 “The Moth” this song shows the diversity of Sarah’s song writing. The melody on this song kind of has a Latin feel to it. I love how Sarah uses metaphors in her song, like in this song where the woman is figuring out that the man was using her. She mentions that the man was controlling her like she was a moth be controlled by the flame. The woman tells the man she won’t play your games anymore. The best thing about this song is the twist from the beginning to the end. A typical song writing of Sarah and also the thing I love about Sarah’s music. Song number 12 “Devil’s Try” this is another cover song, I don’t know anything about the original song. But I do know that this is a perfect song for Sarah to sing, not sure if she changed it to fit her style. This is my second favorite song from the album. What I take from this song is that it’s about someone dealing with addiction which in this case it’s alcohol. The way Sarah starts this song off with just clapping hands and then a distorted guitar slide really sets the tone of the song. I know that this song wasn’t written by Sarah, but it could have easily been written by her… So, in closing I have to say that this is a very well-done album. I know personally that Sarah put a lot of hard work into this album. It definitely shows, you really have to go back a few years to realize this. I have your first full length album and the EP “The Hour”, but this one “When It All Goes Down” is by far the best one yet. This album really shows the deep song writing skills that Sarah has. I would have to say if you are new to Sarah King then this album will give you everything you need to know about Sarah. I know it’s a top contender for #1 Album in 2024 for me…
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AuthorHello, My name is Michael. I am into music, have been for over 48yrs. Big fan of all kinds of music, right now it has been the Blues for the last 10yrs. I do not play any instruments, But I very interested in the recording aspect of the industry. Have messed around with it a little and always learning new things about it. I have met many wonderful people because of Music.. Hope you enjoy my Blogs... In the last two years I have been producing House Concerts. I also in the past 2 years got to produce and engineer an album for a very good friend of mine from Sweden "Magpie". Archives
February 2024
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