Julia Fordham

[Sam Warren <I_SW@zis.ziff.com>]

Rolando Vinluan asked if anyone here listens to Julia Fordham.  Well, I do.  I
have her three albums, but I must say the latest - "Swept" - is a bit of a
disappointment for me.  I don't know if she'll ever match her songwriting
ability on "Porcelain".  Songs like "Manhattan Skyline", "Porcelain", "Genius",
"Lock and Key" 
and "Towerblock" affect me in a way I had not felt since Joan Armatrading.  The
way her voice just sweeps down into that melancholy alto range sends shivers up
my spine.  To me, "Porcelain" is the perfect Fall album.  When the leaves are
changing, the wind is whipping past you and the lights come on a little earlier
in the evening.  That's the way I feel when I hear that album (even if it
happens to be summer).  On the latest album, I think the only one I like is "I
Thought It Was You".  But I keep listening, hoping it will grow on me. 
Lyrically, though, it will be hard for her to top "Porcelain".  I find her
voice very romantic on all three albums though.  She's definately worth looking
into.  But incidentally, hounds, she's really nothing at all like Kate (or for
that matter, Tori).