Album Notes

“In a perfect world no guns would fire
We’d bury our bombs and miles of barbed wire.”
--from Perfect World


Perfect World is the title song on Margaret MacDonald’s latest release, a six-song EP. It is her lyrical musing on what a perfect world could be. The first four songs of the EP were produced in collaboration with Travis Allen of MyRecordLabel.com and some very fine Nashville musicians backing up Margaret’s richly textured voice. Back to You is a break-up song with attitude, while We Belong is a love song that would not be out of place at a wedding or commitment ceremony. Pieces of Me describes the frustrations of a mother taking care of everyone and everything, draining her to the point where she can’t give any more. The piano-driven ballad Letting Go recalls the feeling of an empty nester as her child leaves home to start college or a job. And finally, Sans Vie is the haunting theme song to the independent film of the same name, released to festivals in 2009. It means, literally, “without life,” but is in fact a plea to a friend to open their heart.

Margaret grew up in San Francisco listening to everything from classical music to R&B to folk, then spent 15 years in the United Kingdom before returning to California, and her songwriting reflects her experiences along the way. Her songs sparkle both musically and lyrically, a rare feat these days.

Her two previous releases on CDBaby are Other Vistas (2001) and the critically acclaimed Rain on the Roof (2006) which includes the award-winning song, Still 21 In My Head.