New Non-Fiction

by

Susan Werner

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What is it about this modern world that makes having a relationship so neurotically impossible and why do women who pride themselves in their independence still wind up caught in the same old snares? This newest CD release by Susan Werner attempts to ask some of these questions and although she does not always provide answers, her disk is a band-aid to anyone who has ever been caught up in the trap of being female and single in a modern age.

Werner's disk is a collection of songs that deals with the age old desire to be loved and the dilemma of finding yourself alone still looking for Mr. Right but still wanting the excitement of Mr. Wrong and of not being willing to compromise either way. These are themes that are immediately recognizable to any woman over the age of 25 who has been a victim of her own making - of dealing with expectations that are impossible to meet and coming out the loser in the game of love.

In "All of the Above", Werner dissects the view of the modern woman that says having it all means never settling for less than what you want and is the kind of neurotic list making that defines many modern relationships. "Misery & Happiness" takes this concept a step further in exploring why we sometimes prefer Mr. Wrong over Mr. Right - is it the fear of losing the excitement that causes us to make these choices or can we really change the wrong into the right?

Musically, the strong points of this CD truly emerge in songs like "Shade of Grey" in which Werner moves into jazz territory. If I have one complaint (and it is a small one) it is that she does not do this more often. Her voice has such a suppleness and buoyancy and her vocal phrasing is so clean and crisp that jazz seems as natural to her as breathing.

Werner is also an artist that is not afraid to take chances. In a move that may be off-putting to classic folk and country aficionados Werner takes the classic Fred Neil song "Everybody's Talking" and re-invents it with a fuzzy electric guitar that lets you know that while she may be steeped in musical tradition she is not fenced in by it.

The disks ending, "Epilogue: May I Suggest" is about the coming to the realization that love is something you define within yourself and that it is this definition that allows a person to grow and that mature love - be in friends, family or a lover is dependant on life as it is lived.

Often crafted with flashes of wry humor, Werner's music is the same sort of intelligent folk/pop that made Mary Chapin-Carpenter's music something we could relate to and sympathize with. In her music Werner flirts with pop sensibility but, like Carpenter, is never consumed by it maintaining her folk roots and keeping her integrity intact. In a better world (one that was not so afraid of its own neurosis) Werner's music would be a mainstay on adult contemporary radio. Here's to hoping we all wake up and learn to laugh at the things that make us what we are.

Don't get me wrong, I love Susan Werner. But my love for her and her music comes from the richness of her voice, her music, and her lyric. This CD is playful, satisfies the need we, as her fans, have for more new music from her - and clearly satisfied a need SW had for recording these pieces.

It just wasn't what I expected - it lacked the depth and the previously mentioned richness of lyric.

The saving song, if you will, is the final cut "May I Suggest to You" which I heard her perform at the LL Bean Summer Series concert last August. This is what I expect from her -