Diane Birch: Bible Belt CD
Bio:
For singer-songwriter Diane Birch, music was a refuge. Although Diane was born in Michigan, her childhood was spent on the move as the daughter of a preacher, living between Zimbabwe, South Africa and Australia, before her parents finally settled in Portland, Oregon. When she was in her early teens, Diane absorbed a unique and cosmopolitan perspective on life that shines through her music and makes a simple categorization of it impossible.
The result? Diane Birch sounds like an old favorite, with all the sparkle and magic of a breakthrough talent. People says she sounds like a combination of early Carole King, Linda Ronstadt and Stevie Nicks, with a little Joss Stone and Cat Power mixed in. Bible Belt is only her first record, but it’s one of the most accomplished albums you’ll hear all year. From the opening track “Fire Escape” to the closing “Magic View,” Diane’s stunning voice is mesmerizing.
Written entirely by Diane, Bible Belt was recorded in New York City and New Orleans with an impressive team of Grammy-winning producers: S-Curve Records founder Steve Greenberg, soul legend Betty Wright and Mike Mangini, in their first project together since producing Joss Stone’s first albums.
Link to MP3 of ‘Fire Escape’ http://www.rcrdlbl.com/artists/Diane_Birch/track/Fire_Escape
Myspace = http://www.myspace.com/dianebirch
I recently received a review copy from One to One Network of Diane Birch’s new CD Bible Belt. To be honest I had heard one song already from this CD as part of a contest to win an iPod and a signed CD. I listened to the pre-release song on iTunes and was not as impressed as other reviewers. I was surprised to receive the full CD yesterday and popped it in to have a listen.
Her press describe her as Amy Whinehouse without the dysfunction – I disagree. To me Diane Birch’s new CD has the vocal styling of Norah Jones at times (for example in Valentino), and a great deal of the melody reminds me of Aimee Mann (track 3) and at times she even sounds a bit like Nelly Furtado.
For me most of the songs are not sing a longs but I think that may be because of Diane’s vocal range. Although the lyrics lacked the draw and recallable pull of mindless pop songs these days, the music was catchy, head bobbing and toe tapping.
The songs themselves have a folksy undertone and are for the most part upbeat and catchy. If I had to sum the whole CD up in one thought it would be “Top down on an open country road”. I will be adding Diane Birch’s Bible Belt to my CD changer this week as traveling music.
