REVIEWS

Ben Ohmart - Muses Muse 8 songs and 23 minutes shows us the strong will and voice of Rene Zabel, a singer-songwriter from N. Virginia, and a set of pipes like Madonna on Ray of Light. Her soft 'You'll Never Be the Sun' could make a grown sadist cry, and is not recommended to mothers singing their babies to sleep at night time. But it's a night song with a looking glass quality. You see yourself and sing softly to that face you think you know. But in between the sad bits there are some great Irish stew pots of jig. 'King of the Fairies' has no words, but it's traditional arrangement is by Rene, and when track 5, 'Banish Misfortune', lands in your coffee, you've got to get up and dance. Sorry, but there's no way around it. If you can keep your frown going while everyone else around is losing theirs, you're quite miserable. Therefore, try more jig. And if you're one keen on arts festivals, turn to 'The Queen', another traditional arrangement, this time for voices seemingly outside in the open air. Recording is weirder, but therefore a nice change from the previous songs. This woman's smart in her genre. A few more bucks for cd production and promotion, and she'll be claiming anti-gothic fans within a fortnight. New Bard Song Review 2001 By Les Reynolds Indie-Music.com Rhianon is a Virginia-based singer/songwriter whose multiple talents grace the listener's ear on "Bard Song" -- a collection of eight tunes. The songs encompass slow, soulful and piano-driven Celtic-sounding ballads (title track and "Where Have You Gone?") and up-tempo jigs featuring whistle and flute, such as the traditional "King of the Fairies." The instruments are well-played, the songs well sung and you can tell the vocalist has been classically trained and has a wide range of influences. Overall, the sound isn't fancy. Sticking to the basics works well here. "You'll Never be the Sun" is possibly the best vocal effort, and one can imagine hints of an Irish Rita Coolidge ... while the last song, "Women of Ireland" (an instrumental) has the prettiest melody with Adriann Jakabfy's beautiful piano leading the way. The only thing is that it leaves you wanting words.