Customer Reviews
Not as good as Dido? Oh, please ... - By: Miranda, 27 Apr 2004 
I bought my first Sarah McLachlan CD, Surfacing, purely on an Amazonrecommendation, probably because I had bought several CDs by what I thinkof as talented singer-songwriters (Tom McRae, Damien Rice, Beth NielsenChapman, Jennifer Warnes, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Leonard Cohen, & Dylan,obviously). I also read every customer review of McLachlan's work beforeinvesting, reluctantly,in an unheard album. I have now bought 4 McLachlanalbums & a concert ticket for later this year. I haven't beendisappointed by any of her work, although I do think that some tracks needrepeated listening. Comparisons with Dido do her no justice - I can seesome similaritiesin terms of vocal style, but really, this is farclassier & more complex stuff. Buy Solace. Then buy Surfacing. Then buyall her other CDs. I'm going to. Don't be alienated by the Dido analogies:this isn't throwaway pop, it's sophisticated & sensuous, multi-layeredand demands a sensitive ear, not just half-attentive recognition of aformulaic 'hook' chorus. That's fine as far as it goes, but McLachlan isfor music lovers.
Superb - By: S. Smith, 23 Nov 2003 Sarah's music always feels personal but on Solace, there's an extra layer hidden away for us to find. Although there are some outdated elements of early 90's pop rock, it fitsin well with the CD's folk undertones. Standout tracks are "Drawn To The River", I Will Not Forget You", "Shelter" & "Mercy", the latter is one of Sarah's most daring & original songs to date. is album marks the beginning of Sarah's genre of music we here more today than "Touch", so if your back cataloging, buy this album first!
Sarah's best album - By: , 24 Jul 2001 Solace is beautiful, uplifting & depressing, yet always inspiring. Sarah & longtime producer Pierre Marchand have created an album full of joy & complete sadness & they have made it well. Sarah's voice is the main attraction here, as she has one of the most beautiful voices ever, but all of the musicians are brilliant as well. This album is not to be missed!
Woefully inadequate songwriting, but plenty of 'polish' - By: G. ADAIR, 01 Dec 2000 
I recently posted a review of Sarah McLachlan's "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy", which most people seem to think is a flawless gem of an album. My thoughts on that album were mostly positive but with reservations about the songwriting. Having now heard "Solace", I see the same problem only far, far worse.
The thing is this: although Sarah can sing magnificently, her backing musicians are superb at their craft, & the production is lush & smooth, the songs themselves are truly dull. And yet it's surprisingly easy to miss this fact - the album burbles on quite happily as background music, but once it's finished you'll find that you can't remember a single tune, nor indeed can you distinguish between any of the tracks on the album.
If all you want is something to playin the background at dinner parties, then I guess it's fine (though I can think of many albums better for that purpose too), but if you want to sit down & really LISTEN to the music, you'll find it a very unsatisfying experience indeed. It's like poorly thought out folk music that's been heavily polished by lavish production techniques.
As I mentionedin my other review, if you want music of this genre you'd be better checking out anything from Beth Orton, Dido, Kate Bush, Capercaillie, the Cocteau Twins or Jerry Burns. For any of these artists, the songwriting comes first, & the producer only provides the finishing touches.
As for Sarah McLachlan, I'd recommend she changes her producer for one that can take her considerable singing talentsin fresh directions. Either her songs need to be stronger, or the production needs to be a lot simpler.
A Must have - By: piers_n@hotmail.com, 11 Jan 2000 If you like this kind of music then this is a great album. I first heard of Sarah when she was on the X-Files Movie Soundtrack with the song 'Black', which is from this album. I bought this to hear more of her work, & I really enjoyed it. The best songs for me have to be 'Drawn To The Rhythm', 'Terms' & 'Black'. The only song that I don't like is 'Mercy', but the rest of the album is great. Get this album if you are tempted!
