AMEN, PAULA COLE BAND

AMEN, PAULA COLE BAND

(IMAGO/WARNER BROS.):

The title of this album is the expression of approval listeners are sure to utter.

Singer/songwriter/musician/producer Paula Cole has created an artistic masterpiece, a collection of nine songs with melodies beautiful enough to bring tears and lyrics provocative enough to fuel contemplation.

Cole wrote and produced all tracks, imbuing them with what appear to be highly personal takes on spirituality, love and social consciousness.

Graced with her soaring songbird vocals and the succulent, seductive elements of R and B, funk and hip hop, Amen emerges as a defining work from an artistically confident performer.

 Listening to the sweeping, symphonic strains of the opener, I Believe In Love, is akin to body surfing on tropical, aquamarine waves.

The ballad is grand but not pretentious, ‘70s funky but fresh.

The title cut plays off a story of a very human heroine searching for meaning in life and an eclectic laundry list of cultural icons, including Marilyn Manson, Bettie Page and Gandhi.

 Equally eclectic but effective is the combination of string quartet, harp and hip hop scratches by Gang Starr’s DJ Premier.

Cole addresses feminism and femininity in Pearl in which she fires scathing salvos at her chosen profession: “There are no role models in rock ‘n’ roll/No women who could have it all/The long career, the man, the happy family/And here I stand and God I do demand it.”

--Heidi Johnson-Wright