Reviews
“Ashes” receives a four star rating from Stacy’s Music Row Report.
Debra Lyn’s sixth album leads with the funky title tune (featuring background vocalist Kim Fleming) inspired by Tina Turner’s transformative saga of victim emerging as victor with lyrical nods to Connie Francis (Who’s Sorry Now) and the BeeGees’ (Stayin’ Alive).
The native upstate New Yorker, multi-award-winning Americana/Folk vocalist and lyricist leaves the musical accompaniment of this and six other of the nine songs found here to her collaborator- producer, arranger, engineer, musician, occasionally-shared lead vocalist (and husband) Jeff Silverman.
The socially conscious singer/songwriter’s Wing and a Prayer tackles homelessness while Debra Lyn brings the same passion to Brown Dog, an explicit commentary on animal cruelty in general and dogfighting in particular.
Stranded is another Tina Turner-inspired tale of a struggling, abused woman’s tug-of-war to retain her self-esteem amid seemingly insurmountable obstacles to assistance.
The themes of survival and self-awareness are also at the heart of Close By while the bluesy-tinged I Don’t Know How to Love You evokes the protagonist’s frustration dealing with a variously emotionally and physically absent significant other.
Big Enough for Two continues the theme of dysfunction with a sassy tone, taking emotional abuse to the point of intervention, then calling it quits before threats of bodily harm materialize.
Hell Must’a Sent You suggests that it doesn’t always take two to tango, as the album’s closer, Winter Heart provides a thematic change of pace; a wistful remembrance of unrequited love that remains impactful and undiminished despite the progression of time.
Debra notes that “this project has been released in Dolby Atmos/Spacial Audio which make s listening a more immersive experience.”
One more reason to check out this latest evidence of Debra Lyn’s maturing artistic evolution.