Meg Gehman
In the Press
The Way The World Knew Her
Reviewed
John Apice, Americana Highways
Usually, you’d want to open your show or CD with a rollicking ass-moving song, but Meg decided to roll the dice & open with an intriguingly, haunting & remarkably soulful “You’re Gonna Figure It Out Someday.” She hits the target with brilliance.
Of course, she also sounds like a seasoned veteran with her stirring arrangement & vocals. You seldom get this kind of vibrance from a novice. If this was sent to Motown in the 60s, they would’ve signed her. No doubt. Kudos to her backup singers as well, they were pure vocal nitroglycerin.
The 13 solid bricks on Meg’s path were produced in her new home base, Nashville by Jano Rix (The Wood Brothers’ Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist) & The Way The World Knew Her (Drops March 1/Independent/59:45) finds Meg wisely sliding into 2nd base with the funky balladry of “Not the Same Girl.” It has a rhymical groove & splendid lyrics, if not a little colorful. Meg’s voice is tinted with a blend of Chi-soul & a Southern fried style that translates to the ears, feet & head. The notions are a bit mischievous with a passion that’s real, the flow continues with her ballad “The Bed’s Still Warm,” with its sentimental touch sung with realism.
But I come back to the vocalizing – Meg has a way of singing each with the same tonality but a “different” voice squeezes through the notes. Quite amazing because “Never Underestimate,” is more Southern-inspired than the earlier Chi-soul take. It does have a Mary Wells richness to it, a Genya Ravan growl that’s just under the surface but loaded with seasoning with experienced emphasis in each lyric. Just the word “underestimate” in a lyric is a reason to rejoice in her creativity. The song also profits from a Steve Cropper-like lead guitar.
The southern edge continues with the Dr. John-styled “Raise Up,” quite a hot band workout. The songs are all laid down instrumentally like chiffon & burlap to differentiate the accentuations that are required to temper the climate of her music. With “Chantel,” Meg’s deep in a Stevie Wonder discipline. She dresses it all up in a feminine toughness. Exceptional performance by Meg & everyone beside her. The band & backup singers support Meg’s powerful voice with high-fuel dynamics. As it should be.
March 1, 2024
Lee Zimmerman,
Alternate Root
Meg Gehman specializes in heavy soul and telling truths, an emotive sound spawned from a period of heartbreak, uncertainty and the need to excise her emotions the only way she knew how — that is, through her music. ‘The truck is rumbling right outside’ she sings on the sensuous break-up song “The Bed’s Still Warm”. ‘You look like you can’t wait to leave’. Indeed, Gehman spares no sentiment when it comes to expressing even the most profound revelations. There’s a certain sadness that saturates many of these songs — “You’re Gonna Figure It Out Someday”, “Not the Same Girl”, and “Never Underestimate” in particular — each an example of an honesty and vulnerability that’s as tender as it is touching. The uptick in energy that comes midway through the proceedings, courtesy of “Chantel”, “Without the Fall”, and “The Way the World Knew Her” finds resilience and resolve even in the face of certain setbacks. Gehman has a gift for bringing those feelings center stage and the fact that she bares her soul with such intense emotion is a credit to both her and The Wood Brothers’ Jano Rix, who produced the project. An auspicious introduction, The Way the World Knew Her has a title that tells all.
March 25, 2024
