“Whoa, at least I’m not the only one who has ever been burned”. That was my first reaction after fully listening to "Skin", the seventh release from Melissa Etheridge. 10 songs, with a total running time of just under 39 minutes, yet the songs told more, much more than their titles stated. Heartbreak, redemption, and finally closure; it is all in the lyrics, and a listener cannot helped but be moved by the powerful songwriting that Etheridge has put forth.
Okay, lets get one thing out in the open. All of the material for "Skin" was written and recorded during the breakup of Etheridge's 12 year relationship from partner Julie "I'm just not gay" Cypher, which produced two children. Sure, relationships do end, but Cypher and Etheridge always seemed to be "the perfect couple" in the gay community. However, judging from the writing on "Skin", (and from her previous effort, "Breakdown"), their relationship, in the later years, was just a house of cards, waiting to fall.
So, Etheridge poured her heart and soul into her music, and the result is 10 wonderfully great songs. I would dare to say that this is her strongest release to date, lyrically and musically (much of the instruments were played by Etheridge, using ProTools and loops), and in the it is simply Etheridge herself, as she has only a few other musicians playing on this release. But more than anything, Etheridge proves that she is not some super human and that even "famous" people have problems that you and I face. The only difference is that Etheridge's life is magnified 100 times more than ours.
Lover Please - The first track is the most of a "rocker" track that this CD contains. This song could easily be called "I'm the Only One Part 2”, as it has just about the same hooks and is in the same key as that song. Lyrically, the song is a real burner, with Etheridge singing about a former lover, intent on going out "dressed to kill tonight", and Etheridge is literally screaming that "this one's gonna hurt like hell":
Answer my prayer and answer the phone
Think twice about it honey
Turn around and come on home
Lover stop lover don't
Lover stop
Lover lover please
The Prison - A song about the "limbo" period that is experienced during a breakup. Will the relationship end? Will there be a reconciliation? What will happen? Another strong track both lyrically and musically, with Etheridge prominently playing an acoustic guitar and a harmonica:
I held you so close
I thought my soul would break
But you were just a ghost
The holiest mistake),
Walking on Water - This track reminds me of Etheridge's "Like the Way I Do" from her 1988 debut CD. Burning words, directed at the lies that are seen after a breakup:
Walking on water
Water to wine
Love lasts forever
Wish you were mine).
Now who hasn't had to deal with the promise of a lasting love, only to have it end?
Down to One - Finally, a song about hope, and moving on. This track tells of how, ultimately, that the individual is responsible for their own happiness. Again, accompanied with a slower tempo, and an acoustic track, Etheridge tells of how she is hopeful that she doesn't feel the pain and confusion that this breakup has caused her:
I want to know where I failed
I want to know where I sinned
Cause I don't want to ever feel this way again.
Goodnight - This track tells of the loneliness that Etheridge feels after going out into the world, while still longing for the comfort of a past relationship, and how old habits (in this case, saying "goodnight"), die hard. Definitely a bit of a pop song, so expect to hear this one quite a bit if it is a released as a single.
It's Only Me - Another track, telling about how Etheridge knows her partner better than she does herself and how no matter what, she is the only one who will ever really know her:
Baby you can just pretend
That maybe you can love again
But babe I know better
It's only me
I Want to be in Love - This track is a bit of a faster than the previous ones, and musically sounds like "Never Enough". Lyrically, this is about the longing for another relationship and the wonderful feeling of being in love again:
In front of total strangers won't you kiss me
Flowers for no reason but you miss me
Oh I want to be in love
You're standing on the doorstep in the rain
Cause you couldn't wait to see me once again
Oh I want to be in love
Please Forgive Me - For me, this is the my least favorite track that has a bit of a weird tempo (3/4 count). The song tells of how, during a breakup, mistakes are made and things are said that normally wouldn't be said. And then, of course, there is the newness of having to move on to the unknown:
Please forgive me
If I don't know what to do
It's an old fire
This familiar desire
But my skin is painfully new
The Different - This song has a bit of a "tribal" sound, with Etheridge's voice being a bit distorted and run through an echo, which just accents the pain of the song:
'Cause you live and you learn
And you learn to hold on
And time will make it heal
And time will make it gone
Heal Me - This track is a great way to end the CD. Upbeat, and hopeful and accompanied by Laura Dern and Meg Ryan on backing vocals, this song tells of how Etheridge is bouncing back after the heartbreak:
You can let the light in
You can begin again
Ain't it crazy
I lay me down in this sweet perfection
I am a witness to my resurrection
Overall thoughts - A great CD, her strongest musically and lyrically to date. Etheridge really bares her soul in "Skin" and each of the songs tell of not only the pain she experienced but the hopefulness that she has to find love again, something that just about everyone has had to deal with at one time or another. I highly, highly recommend "Skin", and I am willing to be that when they announce the Grammy nominations after the first of the year, this release will garner many nods, and hopefully, a few statues.
In the past, Melissa Etheridge s music has often been described as deeply personal, but on Skin, personal experience, art, and cathartics all come tog...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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