Amy Fairchild's Deep Heart

Amy Fairchild

by Seth Rogovoy

(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass., February 19, 2002) – Anyone wanting proof about how screwed up the recording industry is need only listen to Amy Fairchild’s new, self-released CD, Mr. Heart (So Fair).

If the record business was about fresh, catchy, radio-ready songs performed with flair, then it would be Fairchild with the $80 million contract, and not Mariah Carey. And the record company wouldn’t have to buy her out of the deal, either.

But it’s been years since the record business was about good songs – the kind of tunes that fill Mr. Heart, songs that have won over the judges of music competitions ranging from Kerrville’s New Folk award to Lilith Fair’s Talent Competition, songs that have delighted critics from Billboard Magazine to Dave Marsh to this one.

It’s been a delight following Fairchild’s career since she first burst on the scene in Northampton in the mid-‘90s with her debut CD, She’s Not Herself. Fairchild moved to New York several years ago, where she’s been building a following at rock clubs like Arlene’s Grocery, Fez and the Bitter End.

Mr. Heart, the long-awaited follow-up to She’s Not Herself, is a great leap forward for Fairchild. Featuring 11 mainstream pop-rock songs, the album was produced by Adam Steinberg, who has worked with the Dixie Chicks, Sheryl Crow and Patty Griffin, among others.

Multi-instrumentalist Steinberg will be on hand next Thursday, February 28, as well as other members of Fairchild’s band, including drummer Phil Antoniades, bassist Jeff St. Pierre and guitarist Matty Cullen, when Fairchild celebrates the release of Mr. Heart at Club Helsinki at 9 p.m. For tickets call 528-3394.

Mr. Heart, which was recorded and mixed at the Clubhouse studio in Rhinebeck, N.Y., will appeal to fans of Sheryl Crow, Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin. Fairchild is an insinuating, versatile vocalist. She has a way of cutting through to a listener and singing with a relaxed, regular-girl intimacy, but not at the expense of the beauty and charm of her vocals.

She’s a rugged rock singer on “Beautiful Secret,” exposing the ragged edges of her voice, and a delicate balladeer on “Humble Pie,” a solo piano number in the vein of early Joni Mitchell. “Home” is a sensual bit of pop-soul, and “Movie” is a rootsy, folk-pop examination of self-absorption.

“Tuesday” is Fairchild’s contribution to the growing genre of “where were you on 9/11” songs. A stark, solo acoustic number featuring just her voice and guitar, the song captures with economical simplicity the paradigm-changing nature of the event, especially for those living and working in New York on that day. The Roy Orbison-style neo-rockabilly of “Shade of Blue” also seems to allude to the events of 9/11: “I see the F-16s in the September sky/I think this time they’re here to stay.”

Mr. Heart features instrumental contributions from drummer Gary Burke and bassist Graham Maby, noted for his work with Natalie Merchant and Joe Jackson. Steinberg’s brother, Sebastian Steinberg, of Soul Coughing, played bass on two tracks.