TAMPA BAY, FL. (www.lornabracewell.com) - A working musician runs into a lot of talented people. While hosting a Jam at a hot Florida nightspot 5 years ago, I had the pleasure of turning over the drums to a young girl by the name of
Lorna Bracewell. She was young (her parents drove her to the gig)and she was good. A few years later, I ran into her again and she had started writing songs and playing guitar. She had a demo. It was good. Then I started following her career. Her personal manager, Cliff Rice, started promoting and networking Lorna's work. And again it was good.
Now, that young girl has come of musical age with her first full length, self produced CD: "God Forbid". And it is GREAT!
Lorna assembled a talented group of musicians for this production: Mick Luke: electric guitar/ Chuck Drake: Keyboards/ Jody Gray: Slide Guitar & Bass/ Jason Alfano: drums/ Jason Alfano: drums/ Adam Shoemaker: drums/Uncle Dow: Dobro.
Lorna sings, plays acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and drums.
Lornas' singing and songwriting are what set her apart and will ultimately take her to the star stage. Her singing is sweet, husky, seductive or hard, depending on the song. Her pitch is excellent and her delivery is professional. Her songs are full of what must be life lessons she has learned in her few years. Songs of joy, love gained and lost, sorrow, angst,happiness and longing are artfully woven into the fabric of the tunes. The styles range from folk to rock and have some blues and country thrown in for good measure.
All 10 songs on "God Forbid" are strong, and each invokes feelings when listened to. The rhythm,bass and drums grooves are solid, the guitar work excellent, the keyboards are smooth, and the mix and mastering are professional. To say some songs are better than others would be giving short shrift to the incredible talent that is displayed by Lorna. However, if I were asked to pick the potential hit singles, I would have to go with "Independance Day" about a woman fleeing an abusive relationship. Another strong contender for single status is the title track "God Forbid" which is a statement of a womans' freedom. The sexy "Fall into Me" is all about loving and leaving. in fact, all the songs on this CD are keepers. There are no fillers in this project.
"God Forbid" was recorded, mixed,and mastered by Pro star Studio, chief engineer Jody Gray, at St. Petersburg Florida.
You can order the special pre-release edition on Lorna's website.
The official release date is January 29, 2005.
I give this CD a 5 star rating. All you A&R types better take notice of this young lady and her unique talents. And don't procrastinate because whoever signs her will be in for a lucrative run. To find out all about Lorna Bracewell, just go to her website www.lornabracewell.com
