Cindy Morgan - Postcards

[worldofcm]

[Josh]

Mike Janke has a copy already, I believe-- no doubt we'll be hearing plenty about it from him in the coming months!

[PaulDA]

I don't buy many CCM albums anymore (or much of any type of albums) but this is one I am interested in.

[murlough23]

Dulcimer? Sign me up.

I may be one of the few who will offer a defense for Elementary - it was certainly lighter fare and I can see why it didn't sell well, but I don't think it was a throwback to Cindy's early days as a pop diva. Listen carefully and you'll realize it's a fairly well-crafted album, even if I must admit none of the songs are really classics.

[worldofcm]

Dulcimer? Sign me up.

I may be one of the few who will offer a defense for Elementary - it was certainly lighter fare and I can see why it didn't sell well, but I don't think it was a throwback to Cindy's early days as a pop diva. Listen carefully and you'll realize it's a fairly well-crafted album, even if I must admit none of the songs are really classics.

I'm a huge fan of Elementary as well.  As far as classics from the disc - probably only one that I would consider a classic - "In These Rooms."

[murlough23]

I'm a huge fan of Elementary as well.  As far as classics from the disc - probably only one that I would consider a classic - "In These Rooms."

Emotional song, but it wandered a bit too much for me to consider it a classic.

I do like the title track and "I Love You" quite a bit, though. Love how she sounds like a singer from about 60 years ago on that last one.

[Escuchame]

How about "Love Can"?  That's like the typical Cindy power ballad.

[murlough23]

How about "Love Can"?  That's like the typical Cindy power ballad.

Yeah, I feel like I heard that one a few times already on Listen or Under the Waterfall.

[-worldofcm-]

I loved "Love Can"...

Onto my take of the album...

Song listing...

1. Deep
2. Enough
3. Postcards
4. Glory
5. Where You Are
6. Mother
7. Oh What Love
8. Eternal Sunshine
9. Dig Up
10. Come Home
12. The River

My favorite tracks - so far - are "Dig Up" and "Eternal Sunshine". However, the run of "Postcards", "Glory" and "Where You Are" are particularly strong - all recalling typical Cindy.

The first couple tracks really took me by surprise. "Deep" and "Enough" could both be found on Jaci Velasquez or Rachael Lampa's latest - alternative pop at it's finest. Cindy even stretches vocally - forsaking her beautiful falsetto for a more gutsy, throaty sound - which she does well.

You can tell that they didn't go in and fix some things. The album is very raw - and in that regards - it reminds me a lot of Listen.

"Eternal Sunshine" and "Dig Up" also have a strong alt-pop sound. My biggest gripe is that the album seems to be more acoustic driven rather than keyboard driven. I mean the keyboard is there - especially on songs like "Where You Are," "The River," "Oh What Love," and "Glory".

The more I listen to the album, the more it grows on me. It just took me by surprise after the first few tracks. I enjoy it highly. "The River" will probably become a fan favorite - just because it's the most typical Cindy of all the songs.

Predictions for first single - "Where You Are" AC & INSP and "Enough" to CHR.

In comparison to other recordings - Postcards most resembles Listen, but not really.
 

[murlough23]

You can tell that they didn't go in and fix some things. The album is very raw - and in that regards - it reminds me a lot of Listen.

Excellent news.

My biggest gripe is that the album seems to be more acoustic driven rather than keyboard driven.

This won't be a problem for me.

[MJanke]

I really don't think it is like Listen at all. I haven't listened enough that I want to make properly informed comments, but to me it's really quite different.

Listen was extremely carefully produced, full of lush orchestration, and on the whole played almost like a concept album, with the way the songs flowed into each other. Postcards is much less careful and concise in its production - it's more raw, more edgy, and more experimental in its design. Track one is the perfect example - it has a very unsettling feel to it, largely because it's in a minor key and sounds nothing like Cindy's ever done before.
 

[murlough23]

I really don't think it is like Listen at all. I haven't listened enough that I want to make properly informed comments, but to me it's really quite different.

Listen was extremely carefully produced, full of lush orchestration, and on the whole played almost like a concept album, with the way the songs flowed into each other. Postcards is much less careful and concise in its production - it's more raw, more edgy, and more experimental in its design. Track one is the perfect example - it has a very unsettling feel to it, largely because it's in a minor key and sounds nothing like Cindy's ever done before.

Maybe it's more like Listen in its experimental approach, not so much its actual sound? Keep in mind that Listen was a bit of an experiment for Cindy when it came out. That's the album where she really moved beyond just being another piano-playing pop singer and really became an artist (though the process was starting to show on Under the Waterfall). I don't necessarily think she should duplicate Listen, but I'm all for taking another artistic leap like she did with that album.

[MJanke]

Some initial thoughts on the album. Still forming full opinions...

Lyrically it reflects a woman who has grown up, become a wife and mother, and has earned a more "lived-in" perspective on life. And that is a good thing.

Musically, it is easily the most mature sounding album of her career, in a different way than Listen. Listen was very carefully produced and had a lot of orchestration and really big arrangements. Postcards is much more of a "live" sounding album. She couldn't really replicate Listen's sound in concert. Postcards has a true band-vibe going. It's even moody and slightly alternative at times, though still clearly a pop album. An adult pop album. I hear a lot of Drew Ramsey's influence in there.

Still not sure where I'd place it in a list of her best work though.

I'm not sure how it will do. I still don't hear anything that jumps out at me and screams "Christian radio." In some ways, because of that, it reminds me of Nordeman's latest album (though "Brave" was a good radio song) or how Lampa's last album was so terribly handled. Hopefully it'll get airplay, because it deserves the attention and she's really poured herself into this comeback.  

[murlough23]

Lyrically it reflects a woman who has grown up, become a wife and mother, and has earned a more "lived-in" perspective on life. And that is a good thing.

She's a mom now? I must have missed the memo on that one. (Not that it's surprising; she's been married for nearly a decade.)

NP: "Hero", Bethany Dillon

[worldofcm]

I really don't think it is like Listen at all. I haven't listened enough that I want to make properly informed comments, but to me it's really quite different.

Listen was extremely carefully produced, full of lush orchestration, and on the whole played almost like a concept album, with the way the songs flowed into each other. Postcards is much less careful and concise in its production - it's more raw, more edgy, and more experimental in its design. Track one is the perfect example - it has a very unsettling feel to it, largely because it's in a minor key and sounds nothing like Cindy's ever done before.

Maybe it's more like Listen in its experimental approach, not so much its actual sound? Keep in mind that Listen was a bit of an experiment for Cindy when it came out. That's the album where she really moved beyond just being another piano-playing pop singer and really became an artist (though the process was starting to show on Under the Waterfall). I don't necessarily think she should duplicate Listen, but I'm all for taking another artistic leap like she did with that album.

That is what I meant by comparing it to Listen, plus Listen wasn't this huge production throughout the entire project - there were specific "live" moments as well - like "The Promise" and "To Fly."

 

[worldofcm]

She's a mom now? I must have missed the memo on that one. (Not that it's surprising; she's been married for nearly a decade.)

NP: "Hero", Bethany Dillon

She has two kids...