Broken Hearted Angel Broken Hearted Angel
Not since Bob Franke's "Hard Love" has a song hit me as powerfully on first hearing as Wagner's "Hammer & The Anvil." The opening song about abuse and alcoholism roils with angst, pain and, ultimately, forgiveness spilling out in brilliant poetry. The poetry in these songs rates a cut above the crowd, especiaily for an initial effort. At least one brilliant image illuminates most of the songs like a flashbulb. The other especially outstanding song is "Downtown Paris, TX" - a terrific narrative of a widow's lament with marvelously understated lines. Wagner plumbs the depths of feeling and surfaces with a full load. The recording lacks production values. There's no accompaniment, just Wagner and her guitar. Yet, she manages to pull it off, even with her fairly simple guitar style. Production would enhance the already rich lyrics of this album. Wagner is a find among new singer-songwriters.
-- RWarr
The haunting wispy vocals of Virginia's folk rock bring to mind early Joni Mitchell. Her sunny disposition serves as a sharp contrast to the solemn themes of her songs. She says that it is very appropriate to describe both her writing and lineage as "the terrible beauty of the Irish." Virginia's debut CD has received some airplay nationwide solely through her own promotional efforts. Get yourself a copy, you won't be disappointed.
He was born of cold steel
Between the hammer and the anvil...
With words that banged as hard as fists
He taught his children what he knew
And they learned their lessons well...
...you keep your lonliness away from me
...from Hammer And The Anvil
Every now and then you come across an obscure CD that turns out to be really interesting. That’s the case with Virginia Wagner’s latest. At first take, it doesn’t seem like much, consisting of 10 original songs accompanied by very basic accoustic guitar. The vocal performance is OK, but not particularly exciting. The lyrics, however, are another story. Powerful, sad, and insightful, these lyrics convey the anger, resignation, and even hopefulness of someone still trying to come to terms with a turbulent past, while facing a very uncertain future. Songs like Canal Street, Downtown Paris TX, Broken Hearted Angel, With You All Along, and the beautifully nostalgic Early December are thoughtful and well-told stories, simple but well-written. Though the music doesn’t have the dynamic strength of the lyrics, most of the pieces on this CD represent fine and evocative works of poetry.
---Jon Sirkis
Virginia Wagner has an arresting vocal quality - think Nancy Griffith with a darker edge. She explores some darker qualities of emotion in these 10 songs as well, without descending into bleakness or dispair. An inventive and interesting singer/songwriter, well worth listening to. Simple vocal/guitar production suits her voice and material.
---KD
The album marks the debut of a new and promising voice. Accompanied only by her delicate guitar-playing, Wagner sings of shattered relationships between lovers. An exception is the album’s opener, “Hammer And The Anvil,” about a daughter trying to break a pattern of despair begun by her father.
Wagner doesn’t dwell on the specifics of a break-up as much as she delineates its aftermath - the memories and mementos, the aching reminders of earlier times, and the way mundane details about the weather and clothing underscore deeper emotional truths.
The artist’s rich and emotive voice goes a long way toward saving these 10 sad songs from unbearable gloom. Another pleasure of this album is the freshness of her writing. She finds new uses for such time-honored metaphors as ghosts, shooting stars and angels. The song “Downtown Paris, TX” (about a widowed waitress) reveal a storyteller’s gift for the turn of phrase, “Some lessons I don’t understand, and some things I plain don’t like.” she sings wistfully.
Though produced by Charlie Elgart, Broken Hearted Angel is a true solo effort. Wagner, a resident of Secaucus, wrote all 10 songs, performs all guitar and vocal parts, and has even released the album on her own label. Her live appearances in New York City and at Rosie’s Cabaret in Long Valley are an opportunity to catch a potent new talent in an appropriately intimate setting.
---Bill Nutt
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