Listen. - Melissa Collins - New Release Review - Ellis James: Guest writer
Collins’ EP “ Listen ” provides five song showcase for a healthy voice capable of supporting more developed lyrical content than the sketches found here. A consistently positive message is delivered in each song. Earthy and powerful, Collins sings with what I call ‘Church’ influence (y’all). I mean, if she’ never been inside of a church she most definitely have been in the neighborhood enough to get a dose of Soul. I include her in a cadre of performers who have something encouraging and good to say without use of cliché’s or required words or holy names. The Hard Way contains vocals with soulful flavorings that are ready to drop into Sheryl Crow’s ‘100 Mile From Memphis’ mixed with a touch of this current generation of “R&B”. No credits were provided to identify the guitar player. The pleasant and well played simple riffs were hinting at a Tony Joe White. ‘ Don’t Give Up ’ makes use of stripped-down lyrics of the title but the passion and delivery of both the vocals and instru...