Eliza Lynn - Frisky or Fair

Eliza Lynn is a singer. Not just a singer in a band, but someone who sings, is always singing. Always. I spent three months traveling with her throughout Southern Africa in the 90s and I don't think I ever heard her stop singing, humming, moving, drumming, playing. But she doesn't sound like other people - well not small framed red heads hailing from Illinois. There is soul in her voice that speaks honestly and directly. Add an oil well of depth, a necessity to sing, an ear for roots music (old time, West African drumming, jazz) and a drive to share all this with others, and you get her magnificent debut album: Frisky or Fair.

The album's sound is somewhere between jazz, blues, gospel, and oldtime, but that's merely the setting. When listening to tracks I find myself taken by her full and rich voice and the resultant cat and mouse game that she plays with Rayna Gellert's fiddle or Dale Roberts' cornet. The songs unravel tales of happiness, naivete, and love cloaked in loss and pain.

The album could easily be played at dessert parties for 30 somethings, but there's much more sitting below the surface waiting to be discovered.

so listen to yourself sing,

as you wander down the road,

you'll breathe in a sweet patience,

and exhale your lonesome load.

- Tunnel

Review of Frisky or Fair at the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange

Eliza Lynn - Honeysuckle.mp3
Eliza Lynn - Frisky or Fair.mp3