Vanessa's Nice Blend
Bruce Von Stiers
Vanessa Van Spall has been called a “confessional singer-songwriter.” She has a full length album out that has been getting a lot of attention. This album is called Cotton-Poly Blend and has an eclectic mix of pop flavored tunes.
Checking out Vanessa's bio, I found out that she is not exactly new to the music scene. She has been around for a few years, playing venues in the San Francisco area and perfecting her music. Originally a professional in corporate project management, Vanessa had put her music on the backburner. But through the encouragement of a co-worker, Vanessa began working on her music in earnest. Now the years of various experiences can be found in the songs on this album.
As Vanessa had been in the IT field, this album has been tagged with a geek factor. But this is not some nerdy techie chick who thinks she's a performer. Vanessa is a great vocal talent and the songwriting is strong and viable. If you wanted to make a geek comparison, I guess you could call it geek-meets-pop-meets-indie-folk rock. I know, quite a strange combination, but once you hear Vanessa, you'll understand what I mean.
For the album, Vanessa pooled some amazing talent. Eric Golub is on viola and cello. He has performed on albums by Tom Taylor and Ian Dogole as well as recording his own albums, the latest being Pluck!
Ian Hisert had been a member of Oberlin Steel. He plays piano and keyboards on the album. He also co-wrote the music on the album. Hisert was the co-worker of Vanessa's that I mentioned earlier that encouraged her to get back to her music.
Derek Yergler is on electric and double bass.
Atma Amur plays the drums and does the percussion. He has toured with the likes of Journey, Third Eye Blind and Greg Allman. He has also performed with Carmen Milagro. A member of the rock / jazz / funk ensemble, Emerge, he played some awesome drums on songs like Emerge and Pipeline. Amur produced the album for Vanessa.
Vanessa does all of the vocals.
Well, where to begin about songs on the album? Each one has a great sound, with sometimes haunting vocals. The first song on the album is a good example of a smooth, yet haunting vocal blend by Vanessa. The song is called Hopeful. The music has a pop / folk mix with some cool strings in it. Vanessa brings out an almost aria element in some of the vocals, with a somewhat haunting effect. But this is a song about having a positive attitude.
I Couldn't Cry is about getting a hard shell due to a relationship gone badly. And how someone has “melted my fortress down.” It is an interesting pop flavored tune, with probably a nod or two to ‘80's pop bands.
Follow Me has aching vocals with that high range makes Vanessa's voice very endearing.
Palm of Your Hand has beautiful piano and longing vocals. It has some wonderful, subtle string music in it as well.
Truth is a slightly faster paced, pop styled tune.
Not Sorry is a slick jazz, blues styled tune. I tried to think of who Vanessa might remind me of in this song. The only thing I could come up with is a slight touch of Allanah Myles, mixed with a sliver of Aretha Franklin and maybe a drop or two of Ann Wilson of Heart. There I go again with the weird analogies, but hey, you gotta go with what you think.
Foolish Bride is a slower, folk pop song. It has an almost Contemporary Christian styling in its' music.
Ivory Lady has a combination of possible Country and pop music.
After The Fall has a bit of funk and blues.
Rapture brings things back down slowly with nice piano and strings.
The song Save Me has getting a lot of airplay on AC radio stations. It begins with Highland string bit followed by an almost Vince Guaraldi styling. Then it transcends into a slick toe tapping pop pace. The song has terrific vocals and extraordinary music.
The album ends with an aching tune called You Open Your Eyes.
Mixed styles, a wide vocal range and strong lyrics make the songs on Cotton-Poly Blend an album not to miss. It is one of the better albums that I have heard in the past couple of the years. Vanessa bares her soul in these songs, making the album far more than just average.
Cotton-Poly Blend is available at many online and traditional music outlets.
Vanessa has several videos of live performances on her web site. There are also songs from the album on her MySpace site. The official web site is www.vanessavanspall.com . The MySpace site is www.myspace.com/vanessavanspall .
© 2007 Bruce E Von Stiers