- Bryon Harris
Carol Martini - 'Songs Of The Girl On The Swing'
California artist Carol Martini is a singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has released an extensive catalog of music including five independent, full-length, CD’s. Her latest work is a 19-track CD titled ‘Songs of the Girl on The Swing.' Martini’s songs have elements of rock, folk, country and adult-contemporary. ‘Songs of the Girl on The Swing’ is a journey through love that takes you from relationship issues to hope and healing.
‘Songs of the Girl on the Swing’ begins with an up-tempo tune called ‘Tired of This Heartache’ which opens with a short acoustic riff pick-up then jumps into a full foot-tapping track commencing with the chorus. “Tired of this heart. “Tired of this pain.” The song is about turning things around, reaching your saturation point, being pushed to the limit then pushing back hard to lift yourself up. Up next is “If You Can Walk Away.” This song also has a strong chorus and a catchy melody. Carol has a knack for writing good hooks. If you listen closely to the lyrics in "If You Can Walk Away," you will hear hints of Carol’s good humor. “If you can turn your back on love, spin right around, but I’m telling you, you’re gonna wind up in the dirt face down.” Many of Carol's songs slip in lines that find a sunny side to otherwise challenging moments in life and this will put a smile on your face.
Moving onto track 6 of the album, ‘Just When I Thought’ talks about how it feels to meet someone who lights up your world after going through a rough patch. “Just when I thought things were at their very worse, you came along and lifted the curse.” This song has strong melodic content and is very catchy. Many of Carols song are about relationships and hope. “Patch of Blue Sky” (track 16) is another song about hope. “There’s a patch of blue sky and though it’s rather small, I feel a sense of relief that it’s there at all.”
Carol changes the mood and pace with track 10 titled “I Watch Love.” There is a lovely intro on keys and Carol’s vocals enter with sensitivity and feeling. “I watch love that burns so bright fade to a shadow on the darkest night.” The song picks up with a nice drum beat and vocal harmonies build the intensity. "I Watch Love" has some folk elements which work great with Carol’s voice unpretentious voice and lyrics.
My favorite song on the album is “Cookie Jar.” It commences with a bluesy guitar solo and solid backing track. The lyrics are fantastic. “You’re gonna break my heart and I don’t care. The pain will be worth every minute I get to be with you.” The chorus metaphor is clever, “I put my hand in the cookie jar and I knew what would happen if I got caught.”
The last song on the album is "Won't You Please Come Home." The song has great pop sensibility with a very strong chorus "Won't you please come home. This is where your heart belongs. Won't you please come home. If you go everything is gone. The verses paint a picture as Carol describes the remainders of a relationship and the objects left behind: shirts hanging in the closet, slippers, a pair of glasses, a coffee cup in the cupboard.
Carol Martini's 'Songs of The Girl On The Swing' offers 19 songs about relationships, love, loss, healing and hope. Each song is catchy with lyrics that paint simple, heartfelt stories.
Carol is releasing a new CD in the spring of 2017 and her current work can be purchased on cdbaby.