Album Notes

"Two Sides" Review by AsburyMusic.com:

Rachel is an extremely spirited singer-songwriter who has put together an incredible collection of songs on her new disc called Two Sides. The songs contain lyrics that are often hilarious, perceptive and disturbing all at the same time. It's refreshing to see a songwriter take the risks that Rachel does within each song.

Rachel (Romanowski) has previously released two EPs. On this, her first full length release, she's assembled a disc full of songs that kick-ass and take names. Her sharp, biting lyrics are backed at times by a slightly funky beat and other times against a soft acoustic background. The result is something that brings to mind the way I felt the first time I listened to the Melissa Etheridge debut record. It's a feeling that you know you're listening to an emerging voice that truly has something to say.

Listen to the brutal honesty and confidence found in the opening track, "Pray to Myself"
When I'm broken and lost and searching for hope
When I'm drowning in desperate need of help
I pray to myself

And how she totally rewrites the idea of a love song with the rollicking, "I'm Not Smoking Crack"
Your honesty makes me wish you'd just lie to me
And your cold words only make me cry
I tell my friends it's true
I'm still in love with you
They say I'm crazy or I must be smoking crack

One of the wildest tunes is the smooth jazzy "History Made Easy," which attempts to pin all of the problems in the world to man's own "penis envy" of other men. As the song progresses you realize that Rachel is not only protesting guns and war, but revealing the evil side of religion. In the end, she begs people to live their own lives rather than follow. Songs like this are usually left off of people's records out of fear of offending somebody. But great art doesn't care about who it offends, and it's song writing like this that takes her work to a higher level. When she takes these risks she succeeds far more times than she misses.

The best tracks include "Pray to Myself", "I'm Not Smoking Crack", "Someday", "Two Sides", "This Way Again" and "History Made Easy." Highly recommended, this disc was a very welcome surprise. Visit her website at RachelRomanowski.com.

-October 19, 2003