Reviews of Annie Wells
Music
Above photo of Annie Wells by Marc Bollmann. A high res version
of this photo is available for download
here.
View a video of Annie performing
and being interviewed on RNews.
All three Annie Wells CDs, “Sleepy Town”, “Sad
& Beautiful” and “Something To Dream About”
are available here for purchase.
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“Annie Wells'
new album Sleepy
Town plays out in a way we can all relate to in our
efforts to hold onto fleeting childhood wonderment. I don't
care who you are: Everybody needs a lullaby. Wells delivers
11 blissfully sleepy vignettes full of innocence and genuine
sweetness as seen through the eyes of her nieces and nephews.
Wells's
beautiful voice is pleasantly plaintive yet reserved, as
if she were in church; she's full of the spirit but perhaps
a little shy to let it all out full blast. Her piano playing
lies just beneath, sparse and proficient, full of thoughtful
musical ellipses and counterpoints. Phillip Marshall adds
guitar and dobro to further the album's overall dreamy
elegance. Have you ever heard this man play? The combination
of these two musicians couldn't sound sweeter.
Wells' lyrics
weigh in loud and clear despite the hush, addressing things
like fireflies, trains, wishing on stars, and seeing diamonds
in the snow. Pleasant and wonderful.”
— Frank De Blasé, City Newspaper
“Yeah, we're relatively grown
up. We pay bills. We have insurance. We willingly watch
the news over cartoons (sometimes). But some hectic nights
now and then, who wouldn't mind being tucked in with a
lullaby? That's where Rochester songstress Annie Wells
comes in. Her new release, Sleepy
Town, is an assemblage of pillow-soft ballads delivered
with feather-light vocals and a delicate restraint that will
(no matter how much is on your mind) pull you toward slumber.”
— Tim Karan, The Insider
“The office was able to mellow a bit
with Annie Wells' new
CD, Sleepy Town, which Wells describes as "a
collection of lullabies for all ages." Pure, simple
innocence drips off these tracks, like Abbott's on a cone,
with a vocal delivery both ethereal and earthy at once. Somewhere
between jazzy and folky, Wells is at home behind her piano,
playing notes that dance next to emoted words of softness,
or as she writes in her song, "Powerful Flower," "she's
like a powerful flower." See Annie Wells perform at
the "Music on the Block" along ArtWalk summer series,
on Saturday, June 25th, in front of Craft Company No. 6 (2-4pm).”
— Michelle
Picardo, Freetime Magazine
“Wells’
evocative piano accompaniment complements perfectly her reflective
lyrics and expressive singing … She’s got a warm
breathy delivery and she’s able to move easily from
full deep notes to delicate ethereal highs. Her voice is
amazing.”
— Chuck Cuminale, City Newspaper,
Rochester, NY
“ … with passionate singing and
honest, gospel tinged vocals, her sophisticated music echos
that of Laura Nyro …”
— Greg Haymes, The Albany Times-Union
“A precise vocal style, whose angelic
tones at times drift to the ethereal … there may be
something yearning to go darker here: Her song 'The Faraway'
is based on the letters of painter Georgia O’Keeffe,
a woman of broad, stark colors and bleached cattle skulls.”
— Jeff Spevak, The Democrat and
Chronicle, Rochester, NY
WORDS ABOUT “SAD AND BEAUTIFUL”:
“On each of twelve songs, Annie Wells
finds a new way to surprise her listeners. She stays cool,
never using more volume that she needs, never bringing the
pain in a lot of her lyrics up above the surface of the music.
The anger and passion don’t jump up at you; Wells asks
you to look into the music and find them on your own. Easily
bored by pop conventions, she screens her own songs for predictable
melodic, rhythmic or harmonic structures, dickering with them
until they hold her interest from beginning to end …
Wells messes around with a piano with the same idiosyncratic
confidence that [Bruce] Hornsby displays, and goes boldly
beyond him in other ways, challenging the listeners to rethink
the definition of a pop song.”
— H.B. Ward, City Newspaper, Rochester,
NY
“ … 'Sad and Beautiful'
was worth the wait. Wells has made the jump to the same territory
worked by Suzanne Vega and Rickie Lee Jones. She sings more
confidently and more provocatively and her piano style is
filled out by inventive work by her band and guests Mick Fambro
and Lalaland’s Phillip Marshall.”
— Jeff Spevak. The Democrat and
Chronicle, Rochester, NY
“Ultimately, every artist’s work
is judged by the level of emotional contact made between the
artist and the listener. ‘Sad and Beautiful’ builds
a powerful connection from the first notes of the title cut
to the moving evocation of loss in 'Rosary,' the
closing song.”
— Martin Edic, Rochester, NY
WORDS ABOUT “SOMETHING
TO DREAM ABOUT”:
“This time around, Wells goes for a
bigger band driven sound that creates a point/counterpoint
between vocals and music. This effort allows both to weave
and blend beautifully. As an experienced story teller, she’s
constantly casting below the surface in search of deeper meanings.”
— Scott Gudell, Freetime Magazine
“It’s a fine compilation of originals
and two covers that showcase Wells’ substantial vocal
gifts as well as some solid backing by local musicians Phillip
Marshall on guitar, Jon Gary on bass and Seam Sullivan on
Drums. Marshall gives Wells’ CD more of an edge than
I’m used to hearing on similar outings. It’s a
nice change of pace.”
— Rob Cullivan, City Newspaper,
Rochester, NY
“She’s always had one of the nicest
singing voices on the Rochester Scene, but on the new album
she sounds a little more like a pop star, thanks to producer
Phil Marshall. 'Something to Dream About' shows how
nicely her voice fits in with a band. Wells’ soaring
voice could lull the listener into a dreamy state of mind.
But then the singer stops singing and wakes you with a whispered
line or two as she does on 'Idaho'.”
— Jeff Spevak, The Democrat and
Chronicle, Rochester, NY
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