Music Style Folk

Artist History Susan Piper's Extraordinary Second Album Produced by Tommy West The Truth Comes OutSometimes when you try to describe something magical, you murder its magic. So it is with the music of Susan Piper. So I will not dissect her songs for you but I do want to give you an idea of just what you have got your hands on, this day. Her producer, veteran Tommy West, known for his great work with Jim Croce and Anne Murray, calls her music "folk/cabaret," but that's just a quest for an elusive hook, and though the label is accurate, it does not explain. To begin to get a handle on Susan Piper it helps to understand the elements that make up the complete singer-songwriter: the lyrics, the music, and the voice.The lyrics. For the complete singer-songwriter, the lyric is often the mother of the song. There are songwriters who can wake up in the morning and say, "Today I am going to write a song." I don't believe that Susan is that kind of writer. But in a moment of emotion comes the idea, from the idea comes the story, from the story comes the inspiration and then she says, "Now, I am going to write a song." And she is very productive, because there is a lot of emotion in Susan, thus many ideas, many stories, and many inspirations. Listen to the songs. You are like Susan. You feel the same emotions as Susan. If you had her gift and her need to communicate then you could write the same songs. But you don't, and I don't, and so it is left to us to listen, to love the songs, to love Susan Piper.The music. A song is, above all else, music. Susan has a huge musical vocabulary that comes to her without conscious will. The same emotion that inspires the story inspires the melodies, inspires the rhythms, and inspires the phrases. There is no con in Susan's music, no manipulation of the listener with trite phrases gleaned from old standards. Susan Piper's melodies stand up for themselves. And the music is so supple, so natural, that you know she could not compose such songs on a guitar if she were not a superb guitarist.The voice. When we hear a new voice we always seem to want to compare it with other voices. In Susan's case, don't do it. It's not fair to the music. Susan's singing is a slave to the music. Beautiful and technically brilliant as her voice is, it is an instrument to move the listener with the songs. That does not mean she could not stun you with vocal gimmicks and agility if she so chose. But she does not. Her gift is a gift of the heart, and it would never occur to her to create for the sake of lifting your eyebrows.And yet she does lift your eyebrows. There's a surprise around every corner of Susan Piper's music, not because she strives to surprise, but because her lyrics, her music and her voice are so sensitively attuned to life, and life is so full of surprises. There is no major popular musical genre today that can hold a Susan Piper. To achieve her destiny as one of America's great rising talents she and Sliced Bread Records must seek out the seekers of wonderful music, the listeners who do not look to the big pop radio stations and the hucksters to tell them what they're supposed to like. How this CD came into your hands is your secret and now it is your privilege to share the love of her music with me and her producer and her label and the others fortunate enough to hear her. You are among the first. You will not be among the last. Call up radio. Call your friends. Tell everyone you know who loves a great song and a great singer, tell them what you've found. And smile. Susan Piper writes and sings the feelings you and I feel like nobody before her.--Michael Kosser

Albums The Truth Comes Out - New On The Planet (Sliced Bread Records)

Press Reviews Susan Piper wrote her first song at the age of five, and started herprofessional career in her teens. She has been called the "Best SingerSongwriter in Philadelphia." She was chosen as one of six winners (out of764 national competitors) of the Kerrvile Folk Festival's New Folk SongConcerts for Emerging songwriters. (Former participants include John Gorka,Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith and Hal Ketchum). Her songwriting has alsobeen honored by the American Song Festival. The Times Herald wrote thather "songs brim with something not frequently found in pop music: a feelingof personal investment." Internet Review described her songs "as a perfectblend of humor and humanity," and Michael Hagen of Fast Folk NYC praisedher songs as "beautiful, clever and uplifting." Possessing a powerful and moving voice, Susan Piper has been called the "Best Singer-Songwriter in Philadelphia." Her maturity as a writer and performer is coupled with a rare freshness and emotional intensity. Susan was a Kerrville New Folk winner in 1995, and she has shared stages with Holly Near, Livingston Taylor, Susan Werner, and The Nields. "World Folk Music Association"

Location Atco, NJ - USA

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