pt-paratroopa's Full Review: Surfacing by Sarah McLachlan
To me, Sarah McLachlan had always been one of those mid/late 90's pop songstresses such as Alanis Morissette or Sheryl Crow whose songs and music always seemed to be around on the radio but I, at an age under 12, otherwise knew nothing about. What I do now know about Sarah is that she is well known for her voice, her ability to convey powerful emotion through her music, and her piano playing skills. She also seems to be the type of artist associated with chicks or sensitive males if you want to look at it stereotypically.
I didn't know all that much about Sarah unless a few month ago, when I became increasingly interested in her music; specifically, this 1998 album entitled Surfacing. Sarah was born in Nova Scotia in 1968 and as a child she took many vocal, guitar, and piano lessons to get to the point where she is in her music today. Sometime later she had fronted a new wave band (can you imagine?!) called October Game while in art school. During the late 80's, Nettwerk Records approached her with a solo contract which she initially rejected but later accepted.
While I haven't heard any other of Sarah's albums in their full length (or any part of her first two at all) they include Touch (1988), Solace (1991), Fumbling Toward Ecstasy (1994), and Afterglow (2003). In between these bodies of work, Sarah has put out a few million live recordings and rarity/b-side sets. After Surfacing, Sarah created and fronted the chick-infested Lilith Fair tour, raising millions of dollars for charity; she also married her drummer Ash (Sood, potentially making her Sarah Sood), and had a kid, with her mother passing on during Sarah's pregnancy.
The song that sparked my interest in Sarah was I Will Remember You and although I have no idea where you can find that song, I enjoyed it enough to dive deeper in the waters of Sarah. Oddly enough, I found myself most enjoying tracks from an album entitled Surfacing. The name is highly reflective on the mood of the album; it's very ethereal and relaxed, highlighted by McLachlan's strong, passionate vocals and the best lyrical material that I've heard from her. Judging by the other material that I've heard from Sarah, I believe Surfacing to be her best effort.
Group 1: Super Slow "I Love You," "Angel," and "Do What You Have to Do," are probably what most people would consider more standard Sarah ballad-type tunes; meaning these are the particularly slow, quiet, mellow, more vocal-based offerings. With that said, I can't think of any other way to describe "I Love You," other than it tends to drag in place. While you usually say that to mean a bad thing, this turns out wonderfully here, working well to showcase Sarah's vocal abilities, as she effortlessly and beautifully hits and sustains long high notes. Like the vocals, with get an added echo effect, the musical instrumentation is light and airy with a small pinch of acoustic guitar, drums and highly ethereal, keyboard or string-like sounds. The musical style suits the sweet lyrics, where Sarah simply muses about how much she loves her partner; I forgot to tell you I love you. And the night's too long. I'm cold here without you."
I'm going to feel like the biggest weirdo ever for saying this, but I had never heard the song "Angel," before December 2003. Apparently, it was a really big hit for Sarah due to it's inclusion in the City of Angels soundtrack. It's not hard to see why it was so huge; despite being a very somber ballad, everything mixes together effortlessly to make for one of Sarah's finest tracks. The lyrics are touching, the melody is memorable, the music is simple with only the piano but yet still firmly moving, and the vocals are breathtaking. "Do What You Have to Do," is my least favorite out of this particular trio of tracks, but it's more like ones of those "above average," songs interupting the "amazing," ones. Like the previous two tracks, "Do What You Have to Do," does a stellar job displaying Sarah's wonderful vocals and piano melodies; it's just a tad less memorable of an affair. The Shakespearean-like lyrics don't change, however.
What ravages of spirit conjured this temptuous rage?
Created you a monster broken by the rule of love.
Fate has led you through it; you do what you have to do.
Group 2: Slow
I consider "Black and White," "Full of Grace," and "Witness," more middle of the road Sarah tunes; these are basically comparable to her usual style of music with a dash or two of experimentation thrown in for good measure. Although not offensive, the longest track on the album, "Black and White," is my least favorite song. It tries hard to keep things going following up "Angel," but seems lame by comparison. Although the music has a very airy, chirpy sound, the chorus is nice, and Sarah still sounds lovely, the lyrics are boring and the song is similarly as dull in the context of the entire album. "Full of Grace," fares much better; the final track with vocals, the song takes on a very operatic, epic feel. While the musical aspect of this song is enjoyable, it's really Sarah's emotional words and vocals that put the song over the top, as she's looking for a positive outcome to the negative things in her life so she can become a better person in a relationship.
If all of the strength and all of the courage,
Come and lift me from this place;
I know I can love you much better than this.
Full of grace, full of grace.
"Witness," is probably the best song from Surfacing that wasn't released as a single. It's almost kind of schizophrenic how the song randomly changes it's volume; one second it's hushed and quiet, and then it suddenly builds to a louder sound during the vocals of the chorus. The music is very dreamy though, and drifts right around your head, almost mesmerizing you until an unexpected guitar solo pops in on the bridge. The vocals are especially nice here; as said, it's the loudest Sarah gets on the album, complete with two or three of her backing up her vocals, making a nice angelic sound, which kinda ties into the lyrics, which are a bit mysterious, probably relating to witnessing a type of crime.
Is misery made beautiful right before our eyes?
Mercy be revealed or blind us where we stand.
Will we burn in heaven like we do down here?
Will the change come while we're waiting? We're all waiting.
Group 3: Medium
If you think Sarah is only about sappy chick ballads, I encourage you to step up to the final trio of tracks, which all happened to be released as singles I've never heard on the radio; "Adia," "Building a Mystery," and the most impressive "Sweet Surrender.""Adia," is actually only a mid-tempo tune but it somehow seems brighter, cheerier and faster sounding than a lot of the other songs. That said, "Adia," is a very accessible, user friendly tune again digging into the dramatic, epic tone Sarah used on "Full of Grace." With lush instrumentation (including Sarah playing with an acoustic guitar and the mandatory elegant piano), encouraging lyrics ("We are still innocent, it's easy. We all falter; does it matter?) and vocals that can melt you like butter, "Adia," is definitely a keeper.
"Building a Mystery," is well worth the price of admission even if only to actually hear Sarah McLachlan say, "A beautiful fucked up man." But the song happens to be so good that it doesn't need to rely on the shock value of the dreaded F-word. This is the second fastest tune to be found on the Surfacing, and it even features Sarah trying to "rock," out (except not) a bit with her acoustic and electric guitars, rounded out nicely with drums and bass -- no piano to be found! A very radio friendly song, Sarah sounds exceptional here as she does pleasant elongations of her vocals while appropriately painting a - well - mysterious lyrical picture about how people tend to mask their true identities.
You come out at night, that's when the energy comes
And the dark side's light and the vampires roam.
You live in church where you sleep with voodoo dolls
and you won't give up the search for the ghost in the halls.
"Sweet Surrender," is the best track on the album and my favorite Sarah song - hands down. It's far from traditional Sarah; the electronic production (with more guitaring done by the multi-talented McLachlan - no piano in sight once more) practically gives me a Tori Amos a la choirgirl hotel (which was released the same year as Surfacing) vibe. Don't be fooled by the electronica though, because Sarah's voice is particularly strong on this track. I know if I ever tried to sing "sweet," the masterfully elongated way she does here, I'd either kill my voice box, the neighbor's eardrums, the nearest pane of glassing or all of the above. The lyrics are a bit more simpler this time and even hold a sprinkle of innuendo:
You take me in no questions asked;
You strip away the ugliness that surrounds me.
Are you angel? Am I already that gone?
I only hope that I won't disappoint you,
When I'm down here on my knees.
Finally, there's "Last Dance," which fits squarely into the fourth grouping - WTF Worthy. Some might see this as offensive filler, but after nine amazing songs, it doesn't bother me as much as it should. "Last Dance," is basically a fluffy instrumental piece with pianos and some flute. Why Sarah included this as the last track, I don't know; maybe to take the bite off "Full of Grace," as a closer. Maybe she thought she needed some filler (although not much, because this is only two and a half minutes). Maybe she was just on drugs. Still, "Last Dance," isn't bad for an instrumental, and does appropriately end the album with hushed, dreamy closure.
Track listing with personal preference:
01. Building a Mystery - *****+
02. I Love You - *****
03. Sweet Surrender - *****+
04. Adia - ****
05. Do What You Have to Do - ****
06. Witness - *****
07. Angel - *****
08. Black and White - ****
09. Full of Grace - ****
10. Last Dance - ***
Final Thoughts:
As it turns out, Surfacing was McLachlan's most commercially successful album, going eight times platinum thanks to her newfound recognition from Lilith Fair It's not hard to see why. Surfacing features the best Sarah has to offer; from emotional, striking vocals, to her ability to play different instruments and create memorable melodies and hooks, to writing touching songs. This is truly Sarah at the peak of her talent, and possibly besides the commercially and critically applauded Fumbling Toward Ecstacy (which I need to look into, seriously), nothing else she's done (especially after the total snoozefest of Afterglow) can even come close to holding a candle in comparison. It wouldn't be too out line to say Surfacing was one of the better albums of the late 90's along side Ray of Light and from the choirgirl hotel, two works by female artists which you can occasionally find comparisons with.
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