A Mixed Bag
Patience is a virtue and indeed a necessity for Shawn Colvin fans. Having been forced to wait six years for her previous album, this time round the wait was shortened slightly to five years and at last 'These Four Walls' hits the shelves delivering the mature, easy listening folk rock that has come to be expected from this three time Grammy Award winner. Colvin is indeed a woman at the top of her game, at least in her native U.S; here in the U.K things are slightly different. Whereas the Americans regard her as a new folk artist, we are more inclined to view her music as soft rock with a slight hint of country, immediately giving a clear indication of the audience Colvin is likely to draw. At times delivering the radio friendly pop rock of Sheryl Crow and at other times hankering towards a nonchalant Joni Mitchell, Colvin's storytelling is laced with bittersweet passion, delivered in a straight talking, to the point way that can be endearing but can also drift into an unmemorable haze also, making 'These Four Walls' a mixed bag of the charmingly endearing and the easily forgettable.
Drenched in acoustic guitars with only the odd glimpse of gentle keyboards or a slight twang of an electric guitar, 'These Four Walls' provides a collection of stripped down, simplistic tracks that rely heavily on Colvin's vocals and lyrics to convey a hint of poignancy and emotion. On the whole this works wonderfully; 'These Four Walls' sees the simplicity of a single acoustic guitar merging beautifully with Colvin's rich, passion laden vocals before it steadily builds. However, by the time you hit the half way point of the album, some of the tracks start to sound too familiar, there's a hint of deja vu as they blend into one, regrettably losing the appeal of Colvin's earlier album offerings such as the sublime 'Summer Dress' or the upbeat and catchy 'Cinnamon Road'.
There is more to Colvin than the gentle, laid back storytelling numbers, with glimpses of her youthful rock roots shining through momentarily on 'Tuff Kid' in which Colvin's vocals adopt a rougher edge to combine with the up tempo music whilst 'Fill Me Up' is a song that appears to be in a desperate search for a MOR radio where its catchy pop hook and soft rock vocals would no doubt find it put on continuous play, making it a favourite amongst the listeners of such stations. And herein lays the crux of Colvin's charm and appeal. Critically acclaimed and highly accomplished, Colvin is an artist who will appeal to Suzanne Vega followers or Sheryl Crow fans, to those who embrace the laid back simplicity of a storytelling singer and 'These Four Walls' willing complies, even when at times something a little different is needed to boast the album's allure and retain the listener's interest.