'Emissary' is a great piece of art! Why am I saying this?--because this kind of poetry makes you feel--and then think. This a powerful poet who imposes herself on her work. There're not many artists who can do this. Who use voice and words and create atmosphere that's thrilling; grabs you and shakes you and makes the listening moments memorable.
Congatulations to Paula Curci for producing such a cleverly conceived CD. 'Jack-n'-Jill and 'Dictionary' are some of the standout poems. And the music of Tullio J. Vaccio is kick-butt good! Add all of this to the effective use of special effects throughout Emissary, and it'll guarantee, with each new listen, more and more thrills you'll come away with!
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Very eclectic mix of flavor that sooths the soul and raises the eyebrow. Never a dull moment during these moments of pure poetry and passion. Paula is definitely one of the best poets I have ever had the pleasure of listening and experiencing live. What are you waiting for, BUY THE CD!!!
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Emissary is a spunky release containing tracks that tackle a variety of themes while retaining a unified consistency as a whole.  The work largely reflects the humanistic vision of one Paula Curci, as cast in the musico-poetic form known as Spoken Word, a genre that has earned its own section in record stores, where it continues to beckon to the masses from its secure niche on the fringes of mainstream tastes.  The niche is secure due to people like Ms. Curci, who champion the form in both deed and (ahem) word.  Ms. Curci’s deeds include her creative efforts within the genre:  the words she has written, spoken, set to music, and made available to the public.  Beyond this, she publicizes (spreads The Word of) the genre via web sites, public readings, and the weekly radio show she hosts on WRHU, 88.7 FM on Long Island.

In my view, many people view Spoken Word as they might view, say, sushi.  An acquired taste, somewhat to be feared, and only sampled on rare occasions.  Ms. Curci’s release, Emissary, can go a long way toward bringing sushi to the masses.  One need only listen to the track Holy Canoli to understand why I classified the disc as “spunky.”  And yet spunkiness is evident through many of the other tracks as well.  In fact, some might consider it rather more than spunky to treat with a resounding air of self-assurance topics such as the Holocaust, group suicide as experienced by the Dakota Sioux, and good old American feminism.  Ms. Curci, to her credit, does so with dignity and eloquence, her vocals colored with just the right admixture of impartial exposition and simmering outrage.

The disc begins with a track called Love Poem, which instantly reassures you of the disc’s solid production values.  The instrumentation is polished and well-mixed, with the smooth, jazzy chords of accomplished guitarist, Tullio J. Vacchio, in the foreground, redolent, at first glance, of perhaps New Age?  But no.  Although the first track has a New Age feel to it, the second track quickly veers off into territory more evocative of Foghat:  a pulsing electric guitar with that pleasing buzz of distortion that tells us, yes, this disc has an edge to it.  Ms. Curci’s vocals are solid and sure throughout Track 2, and when dropping into the lower registers somewhat reminiscent of Cher’s operatic inflections.  By the third track, it is evident that the instrumentation is subordinate to the vocal articulations:  the Word is the thing.  Ms. Curci is not afraid to season her compositions with future past verb constructions (“I will have rid myself …” ; “my truth will have been told …”), and rather than sounding clunky, they nestle comfortably within their verbal/vocal context and complement the piece, ringing true.  It is not always easy to track one’s way through the verbiage of an entire piece, but certain phrases leap out and resonate:  “a sold piece of human circuitry.”  Many of the tracks invite repeated listenings, both to more fully assimilate what may have been missed the first time, as well as to re-experience the pleasure of Ms. Curci’s crisp articulation and the tasteful guitar accompaniment.

The track How Long represents one of the more effective examples of the merging of music with the spoken word.  A catchy guitar phrase is paired with Ms. Curci’s authoritative vocals to introduce such topics as homicide and “parental crime,” a phrase strongly reiterated by Ms. Curci, flung out like an accusation, to penetrating effect.

The track Be Still represents, for this reviewer, another high point on the disc:  a tasty guitar intro to a smooth vocal refrain, followed by perhaps the strongest message of—and goad to—self-affirmation to be found on the disc.  Again, certain salient phrases arrest one’s attention:  “You’ll examine the lessons you’ve learned from losing the things you’ve gained.”  

Track 9, Average Endangered American, is the “feminist” track, and might more aptly be titled Average Endangered American Woman.  It features characterizations of womanhood such as “the suffragette,” “the wayward wench,”  “the goodwife,”  “the housewife,”  etc.  It is not particularly clear what conclusions about womanhood this track is inviting the listener to consider, but whatever they are, they don’t seem as though they would be especially good ones, considering the adjective “endangered,” which is used in both the title and within the composition.  In this, as in most other tracks, Ms. Curci leaves listeners to draw their own conclusions about the themes introduced, which is, after all, what the best art does.

The last five tracks on the disc are more lighthearted in nature than their predecessors, with the exception of Searching, which seems to have a sociopolitical agenda of some sort, but I haven’t drawn my conclusions yet and hesitate to do so here.  These last five are also more experimental than the others, employing a variety of sound effects, as well as a chorus of voices that provide the response portion for liturgical-type compositions.  

All in all, an interesting and ear-pleasing serving of Spoken Word, served, like sushi: Raw.  My advice:  try it—you’ll like it!  It may be served like sushi, but it goes down like canoli.
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I really dug the CD, and you can quote me on that...
Especially cuts 5, 13 and 14. Dictionary had people shouting "duh" from other rooms when I was screening it and while it was fun and a good time to follow it also had a nice subtle kicker at the end that stayed with me for a while.
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