The Muse's Muse  
Muses MailMuses Newsmuse chatsongwriting resource home
Regular Columnists


CD REVIEW: Tena Moyer - Shining Through
By Jane Eamon - 05/09/2006 - 12:45 AM EDT

Artist: Tena Moyer
Album: Shining Through
CD Review: Sometimes I love this. You hear something and it sends you. You stop thinking about everything but the music. It transcends, it transports, it takes you away.

Shining Through, a CD from guitarist Tena Moyer is lovely. With a voice as pure and strong as any other I’ve heard, it is a stunning example of great talent.

Moyer is an incredible guitar player. Her version of the theme song from the Flintstones is great. She reminds me of another great guitar player, Stephen Fearing and that is most certainly a compliment. A little niggle-bit, the recording of her guitar work is a little raw….there is quite a bit of string buzz and finger placement noise. The only reason I bring it up is it detracts from how good she is. Recording is sometimes not kind.

There’s jazz on this CD, Too Wonderful for Words is very Cole Porter complete with word play and great jazz guitar chords. Love Is Not Enough is a stunning ballad. I was moved by the words and the voice and guitar. Simple and clear, beautiful. It would stop the show in a live performance. Some Other Spring, another great jazzy bit.

And Moyer can write too. Glory Days, a common theme about the war is so reminiscent of early Joan Baez with the modern sound of fretless bass and electric guitar. I must admit I love her instrumentals the best. There are some great songwriter songs on this CD, but Moyer shines in her instrumental work…wow. Her version of Penny Lane is cool.

Okay, all this praise, was there anything I didn’t like? Hmmm…the packaging. When I opened the envelope, my first thought was home-made. And I know it isn’t. But it turned me off. It’s that critical 30 seconds where you have to grab your audience before they even dive into the music. It’s so very important.

What else? I found as I listened to the CD that there were a few songs that felt repetitious and a little stale. Moyer is very talented but I would have considered her very best and pared away the rest. Take one or two amazing instrumentals; give me a haunting ballad in that beautiful voice, one or two strong upbeat numbers, a good jazzy bit, and a killer singer songwriter to round it out. Don’t confuse me with songs that sound the same.

Moyer is good. She deserves to be heard. She would be wonderful live.

Her website is www.tenamoyer.com or e-mail at tena@tenamoyer.com.




[ Current Articles | Archives ]

Help For Newcomers
Help for Newcomers
Interactivities
Interactivities
Helpful Resources
Helpful Resources
Regular Columnists
Columnists
Music Reviews
Spotlights
Spotlights
Services
Services Offered
About the  Muse's Muse
About Muse's Muse
Subscribe to The Muse's News, free monthly newsletter for songwriters
with exclusive articles, copyright & publishing advice, music, website & book reviews, contest & market information, a chance to win prizes & more!

Join today!



Created & Maintained
by Jodi Krangle


Design:


© 1995 - 2016, The Muse's Muse Songwriting Resource. All rights reserved.

Read The Muse's Muse Privacy Statement