Kate Markowitz
's arrival as a solo artist is supported by loads of experience singing background vocals for
James Taylor
,
Randy Newman
, and scores of others.
Map of the World
gives her a chance to step out in front of the band and showcase her own vocals and songwriting skills.
Markowitz
will probably be classified as yet another
singer/songwriter
, a description that's technically accurate but misleading. Like
Rose Smith
's
Dawn Raiding
and
Sarah Harmer
You Were Here
, she combines literary lyrics with
pop
production, a marriage that makes the music itself less predictable than the average
effort.
"Pride and Vanity"
"Luckier Girls"
include a nice mix of guitars, synthesizers/keyboards, strings, and multi-tracked vocals. In many ways this approach points back to the early 1970s when
singer/songwriters
like
Laura Nyro
Newman
seemed a bit more adventurous. This connection to the '70s is strengthened with a good cover of
"Can We Still Be Friends,"
a Top 30 hit for
Todd Rundgren
in 1978.
brings a light, airy quality to the vocal that matches the emotion of the original without copying its style. There are also neat little touches on
, like
Dan Dugmore
's steel work on
"These Wheels."
's debut is yet more evidence that the
genre still has some pizzazz left in it. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.