REVIEW FROM www.livingtradition.co.uk

ROSEANNA BALL - Time
Haven Records HAVENCD18

Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Roseanna Ball is very talented. She has a charming quality that draws the listener into her world of song. She seems to have a naivety in her voice that breathes subtle vibrancy into the lyrics. She named the CD, Time, because for her, it felt like a coming of age and it was time to recognise some of the things she had experienced and overcome in her life.

There is loss but also acceptance in her songs. Hold Tight was written in the dark on a ferry crossing the English Channel - she imagined how the rugged confinement must have felt to slaves years ago. It was also an encouragement to hold tight to her strength. Down In The Depths is all about the closing of the mines and Roseanna admits is inevitably biased as Thatcher crippled her father’s business in the late 80s, the knock-on effect being loss of marriage and family home. Roseanna wrote Too Soon when she was feeling very vulnerable, sat at a piano, broken, and recalling how she lost her father and what she has learnt from it, three years on.

Roseanna is the kind of songwriter who is not afraid to display all emotions and weaknesses. The songs are based on characters she has met, stories they have shared, the mistakes she has made and her endurance of the mistakes of others. As she says: “Time, for me, is taking a moment to reflect, accept and hopefully grow.”

We look forward to seeing how Roseanna grows with her skillful songwriting and singing.

www.roseannaball.com

Kathy & Bob Drage