MJ BISHOP: Feel Good

MJ Bishop

Feel Good

© 2003 MJ Bishop (766433101027)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

(About MP3 downloads at CD Baby)

Strong songs from a strong-willed songwriter and performer. Clean production and a solid ensemble complement this chanteuse from the Pacific Northwest.

tracks

1 My Train Song
2 Leave the Light On
3 Little Angel Tears
4 Kiss Like You Mean It
5 Feel Good Song
6 That Place I Called Home
7 Go and Get It
8 Not This Time
9 Broom Horses
10 Rosie Mae
11 Highway Heaven
12 Not Really Gone

notes

MJ Bishop has been honing her sound and songwriting chops since her first release in 2001, and this disc shows it.

Songs are more focused, the production is cleaner - dig that great dobro sound on the opening track! - and she even stretches out a bit into some jazzy sounds on a track or two.

The foundation is still contemporary country, but MJ doesn't let that limit her - she extends the format as she sees fit. The heartfelt ballad "Leave the Light On" is a good example of her growing skill with words and music. Refreshingly, few of her tunes are in that old country bitchin' and blues vein; these tunes exhibit sensitivity as well as a sly sense of humor.

MJ's powerful voice is still here, although she's found some interesting ways to blend it with other elements. "Not This Time" has the smoothly soulful Reggie Garrett providing some sweet background vocals, and "Kiss Like You Mean It" features fine lead guitar work from Dave Patterson.

The tasteful and accomplished pedal steel and dobro of Bob Knetzger and the solid bass of Ed Hodge are back this time around to keep things cooking.

This disc is one to buy - and keep an eye out for MJ on tour!

Steve Wacker © 2003
www.wackerwordsandmusic.com

reviews

Please log in to review this album.

  • WOW !!!
    author: Ian Lang

    Fabulous album..........massive step from MJ's first album..which was great but maybe without direction..this is tremendous.......great playing...........wonderful production....listen to 'Kiss Like You Mean It'..lovely stuff ! Get It !!

  • I recommend you let her music help you feel good and feel deeply.
    author: Victory Review Acoustic Music Magazine

    One of the great pleasures of being involved in the local music scene is the opportunity it provides us to watch talented musicians and songwriters develop their chops. In the larger music market, we barely get the chance to experience music of depth and quality, much less the music that was released before an artist reached a level of ability that made him or her marketable. In MJ Bishop, we have a remarkable source of electricity for the local scene, working solo, in her own band, with ThorNton Creek, and in singer-songwriter circles, promoting the work of other local talents. Meantime, her own talents grow. Where her first album surprised us with its quality and its Eagles-like sensitivity to hooky choruses and intriguing story songs, this CD steps closer to us with a surprising degree of self-confidence and depth. Less reverb, less of an effort to sound commercial. More of a live sound, with the voice right out there, hiding behind nothing. There are a few minor rough spots in the instrumentation, but they are welcome in the context of such openness and vulnerability. And the songs have lost their slightly confusing, seemingly private references, and invited us in. “Come as you are,” they seem to say. Instant country chestnuts like “My Train Song,” the witty “Kiss Like You Mean It” and “Highway Heaven” are interspersed with touching soon-to-be-classics like “Leave the Light On” (with a killer chorus), “Little Angel Tears” (with its moving duo of voices in the chorus), and the powerful and affirming lament “Not This Time.” (Mention should also be made of the fine harmonica work by newcomer Chuck Perov on the “Feel Good Song.”) MJ continues to combine deep roots in acoustic music with a maturing country sensibility, creating a genre that is, in many ways, her own. I recommend you let her music help you feel good and feel deeply. (Bill Fisher)

  • Great stuff MJ - when's the world tour?
    author: Iain Holden

    The new MJ CD has made it across the big pond to Scotland and is proving popular with the many Country and Alt.Country fans here in the land of rain and midges. To my ears it's maybe a bit more trad country than Hometown Address was, but I haven't had it very long so that opinion might change with familiarity. So when's the big tour starting? I keep hearing about all these gigs in Seattle, but can't afford the airfare to get to them. Time for a world tour - or at least a tour of Scotland.

  • Feeling Good Listening to Talented and Well-Blended Country Sounds
    author: Dave Menz

    Feel Good takes us on a ride through every part of the country, and hands us a moving tapestry to wear on the journey. But this isn't tourism, this is MJ face-to-face with broad individual and collective sadness. We can take this ride because of the beauty and strength of the performances, and the insights on how we can still Feel Good. You can't help but feel good listening to the sultry smooth vocals, pedal steel, mandolin, banjo, harmonica, cello, etc. Yes, the highlight is listening to the large community of musical talent that harmonizes and blends together so well throughout this performance. MJ and friends are not distant. Here, they are playing to us and for us.

  • Mj's talent really shines on this album. Strong hooks and soulful melodies.
    author: Eva Tree

    Mj really shines on this album. The songs have great singable hooks and soulful melodies. I find myself tapping my toes and singing along right from the first track.

  • HOMETOWNWAS GREAT,HAVEN'T GOT THE NEW ONE YET
    author: KATHY BELL

    HEARD A FEW TUNES ON IT AND LOVE IT ALREADY. LOVED HOMETOWN,PLAY IT IN MY CAR EVERY DAY

  • I love the CD!
    author: Bereta Nefcy

    I bought the first cd and I didn't think anything could top it, but oh how wrong I was. This new cd is very mature and a huge jump from the last. I could really feel the passion in the lyrics and melody. A great song to listen to is Little Angel Tears, my new favorite. The tune has a great connection with the poetry. congrats to the singer!

email

Please log in to email this artist.