The difference between an artist and a musician, in my opinion, is the drive an artist has to continue pressing forward, experimenting with new concepts, new sounds. This new collection certainly shows your artistry. Goodness, you weren’t afraid to do something totally off the wall with “BREATHE”, were you? And it works! Appropriately, “WIND” blew me away! “Paper blowin’ in the wind…” Cool. The mystical sound you’ve achieved with the keyboard synthesizer and background effects is not only appropriate to the lyric content, but beautiful to listen to. The vocal is sweet and tender and the whole effect is magic. Great new tune, April! Keep writin’ ‘em! “IT’S TIME” is an unexpected improvement over the original. Starr’s double-tracked “echoing” vocals blend with the delicate keyboard triplets in a hypnotic way. And the counterpoint of the vocals at the end, with Starr singing, “…it’s time to turn the page, to take the chance…”—are just wonderful, really. The final notes seem strangely unresolved, as if waiting to turn that page. “THE STORM” is a masterpiece. David Locke proves an excellent choice for guitar backup; his playing compliments the keyboards beautifully. Very professional and pleasing to the ear, April. “FATE” has a compulsive beat; the vocal line plays against it in an intriguing way. Again, it shows you’re not afraid to take your material to new places. “SOUL EXPOSED” is dramatic. You perform it well in piano mode, and Starr adds a haunting echo. The “club” –in my day we called it “disco”—remix with Patrick Burke offers a whole new dimension to the piece. I think I prefer the remix. The title tune, “WIDE AWAKE”, is a hypnotic gem. Alice Marie does a fine job on back-up vocal, extremely complimentary. The whole piece is very drifty and relaxing. “EMBRACE”, another drifty and peaceful tune, contains the excellent double-punch of David Locke’s tasty guitar notes and Starr’s haunting backup vocal. Your own lead vocal seems a bit distant in this song, but it’s appropriate to the arrangement, which builds to a pulsing climax, then falls away into gentle keyboard-and-guitar counterpoint. It dances in the ears. “FREE” takes you higher and farther into space. It’s very ethereal. Your vocals leap from ear to ear in a playful dance with the gently pulsing, echoing keyboard. This piece keeps the old alpha-waves humming, and it fades away nicely. It would fit well on the radio program “Music from the Hearts of Space.” “IT’S YOU” is a track you should try to get some airplay for, April. It has the definite sound of a hit. Very primal and direct, everything in the right place. Tasteful keyboards and synthesized strings. Well done, girl! “LET GO”, the new tune, is simply wonderful—one of my favorite April tunes! The vocals are clear and right on. The lyrics are intriguing: “Everything’s the same; everything’s changed.” Your rhythmic pulse and keyboard layering are hypnotic together. (Any way you can add this track—the extended ending version—to Wide Awake? It would go beautifully between “Wind” and “It’s Time”.) Congratulations on a great accomplishment. This is my favorite April collection by far, and I have a feeling the next one will be even better.

Your music is so nostalgic and with such a deep hidden something....I can't put my finger on it but I know if I listened to it all day I would wind up with the feeling that I could say "Now I understand" Keep at it, girl, you have something and you are sharing it.

I love to listen to this music in my car. It starts out slow and soft and ends on an upbeat. Loved the mixture of guitar and piano. I Cant wait to hear what she comes up with next!