[FM] FAME Review: Lynn Miles' "Stranger in a Strange Town" written by Roberta B. Schwartz

[David N. Pyles]

Night in a Strange Town
Lynn Miles
Philo 11671-1215-2

Philo/Rounder Records
One Camp Street
Cambridge, MA 02140

http://www.rounder.com

A review written for the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange by Roberta B.
Schwartz (rschwartz@oeb.harvard.edu)

Lynn Miles is one of a handful of truly great singer/songwriters to come
out of the contemporary acoustic-music scene.  She has a distinctive alto
voice that easily stretches itself into the higher ranges.  And she writes
songs that are not unlike photographs - they quickly and accurately capture
a moment or an emotion that is difficult to describe.  She is so gifted
that her songs unfold like the petals of a flower, revealing the mystery
deep inside.

Lynn Miles is also Canadian, and like fellow countrymen Joni Mitchell and
Gordon Lightfoot, her musical catalog is filled with songs that will stay
with us for a very long time.

Night in a Strange Town is Miles' second release on Rounder Records' Philo
label.  I reviewed her earlier release, Slightly Haunted, and can't
remember being so moved by another acoustic debut recording. But Night
fulfills the promise of great things to come, and more. Both recordings are
deeply personal.  And both are filled with subjects closely observed and
deeply felt.  Night in a Strange Town expands Miles' body of work and gives
us more songs that are hard to forget. Her melodies linger long after they
have been heard.

"The One You're Waiting For" is just one of those unforgettable tunes. With
Tal Bergman banging out the beat on drums and varied percussion, Miles'
voice soars and hits that spot where we all hurt the hurt left by the one
who got away.  It is particularly poignant and melodic.

"Yeah Yeah" describes the dissolution of a relationship with such accuracy
that we understand the singer's pain and loss:

I think about your soul
I think about your touch
I think that you were wrong
When you said that we love too much
I know it now
This is our fate
Even if we signed a truce today I know it would be too late
Yeah Yeah.

"Beautiful Night" is one of the loveliest songs I've ever heard. Miles and
her guitar are center stage with only a subtle hint of accompaniment on
piano and pedal steel.  It tells how the beauty of the stars and the night
can remove us from life's more difficult transitions, even if it is only
for a moment.

 In a near-perfect recording like this it's difficult to choose a favorite
cut.  But if forced, I think I'd have to choose "Map of My Heart."  There
are some songs, when you hear the singer's voice cut to the core of the
emotion expressed, you cannot help but feel moved:

And I know I hurt you bad
And this is not enough
And that hearts are usually red
And the edges are too rough
But I'm trying to make amends here
And I don't know where to start
So I'm giving you this map of my heart.

And then Miles surprises us with a film noir-type vignette called "Sunset
Blvd" with its catchy beat and lyrics taken right out of the supermarket
tabloids.  It is so vividly written and performed that you can imagine the
desperate lives lived there from day to day.

The recording closes with the wonderful tune "Rust," which Miles wrote for
her father.  I think anyone would be proud of lyrics like these:

Every line in your face is a road you've been down
It's a freight train you hopped
It's a night in a strange town
It's a joke that you told, it's a tear that rolled on
A sad story you heard or a lover who's gone.

Okay, so it's no secret.  I love Lynn Miles.  Hers is a voice so fresh and
so distinctive that it's like no other.  She may be Canada's best kept
secret, but I'm hoping that she's not a secret for too long.  A talent this
big cannot be hidden.  Night in a Strange Town is a classic.

Track list:
Anywhere
Middle of the Night
The One You're Waiting For
Yeah Yeah
Beautiful Night
Sacre Coeur
Wrong
Map of My Heart
Perfect Romance
Sunset Blvd
Rust

Edited by David Schultz

Copyright 2000 by Peterborough Folk Music Society and Roberta B. Schwartz.
This review may be reprinted with prior permission and attribution. 

=====================
David N. Pyles
acousticmusic.com
P. O. Box 459
Brattleboro, VT 05302-0459
(802) 257-0336 Mon-Thur 9:30am-4:30pm
http://www.acousticmusic.com/frames
http://www.acousticmusic.com/frames/fame.htm
=====================
All my relations beneath the sun
I can see myself mirrored in everyone
Still I can forget to see myself in my closest ones
As if the reflection of my nearest mirror
is too much to bear so I can't even hear or
see the truth      as if I needed proof

(So I'm gonna) Sing out a small word for such a big thing
Sing out a small word for such a big thing

from A Small Word by Brian Cutean