Description
This Much I Understand is the third album by the Canadian singer and songwriter Carolyn Arends, released on Reunion Records in March 1999, manufactured and distributed in the US by Provident Music Distribution. The album was recorded by Dan Marnien at The Barn Recording Studio in Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada; with Marnien and Carolyn Arends producing. Mixed by Marnien at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Becoming a parent is an experience that tends to change a person’s outlook on life. So it would seem with Carolyn Arends. Her “difficult” third album, sees her attempting to forge a path between the acoustic promise of her debut and its unfortunately over-produced follow-up, but the album is more notable for the simple reflections on life from the perspective of one concerned with how her child will see the world.
The album shows a combination of the acoustic mode common to the singer-songwriters from whose ranks Arends has drawn her influences and the more modern production touches that were dominant on this album’s predecessor. The balance between the two seems fairly well made, even if there isn’t a huge amount to make the music here stand out. So it is that we get a restrained touch of mandolin on «Even the Mandolin», followed by a programmed introduction to «In Between». The latter suggests a Sam Phillips influence, but the album doesn’t have the avant-garde spirit of Ms. Phillips’s work.
Arends seems to be in a comfortable place at the moment. Her songs show concern that her son shouldn’t suffer at the hands of the society he’s growing up in, but despite their importance, the concerns are fairly simple ones. Thankfully Arends is generally able to avoid the cliche that often comes with an album so comfortable, particularly within the Christian marketplace that she occupies.
A comfortable album which doesn’t push many boundaries, this album doesn’t bring Carolyn Arends’s promise quite to the fore. But it’s another sign that there are some artists who can find worthwhile observations within comfortable places. [James Stewart, The Phantom Tollbooth, 8/09/1999]
The fact that Carolyn Arends possesses a way with words is beyond dispute. An accomplished, in-demand songwriter well before her 1995 eponymous debut, her third record – This Much I Understand – shows how seasoning can make already-talented artists that much more insightful.
This new batch of a dozen tunes comes on the heels of a tumultuous 18 months during which Arends – among other emotional landmarks – celebrated the birth of her son, Benjamin, and mourned the loss of her dear friend and fellow songwriter, Rich Mullins. The themes she explores are broad and reflective of life’s peaks and valleys.
Take your pick, though. All the songs are quite catchy and melodic – and are lyrical standouts. Whether it’s the whimsical «One Syllable Words» – in which she discusses the futility of “psycho-babble, legal-ese/ people earning PHDs/ in postmodern paranoid confusion” or the heartfelt prayer for her baby boy in «Even the Wallflowers», each song is a polished poem.
The mostly mid-tempo tunes – bolstered by the likes of Gordon Kennedy, producer Dan Marnien (Shawn Colvin, Joni Mitchell) and a cast of superb session players (which included the Guess Who’s own Randy Bachman) – sport a fine, relaxed feel.
lf there’s any area where Arends can improve, it would be taking a few more vocal chances. Her voice, while certainly passable throughout, lacks range and, at times, emotion. But Arends – evidenced by her stellar songwriting – is undoubtedly in touch with her feelings. Hopefully, as she continues to grow in her abilities, she’ll also go for it on the microphone in the future.
But all in all, This Much I Understand will be remembered as one of 1999’s gems. [Dave Urbanski, CCM, April 1999]
> iTunes (https://music.apple.com/us/album/this-much-i-understand/1539202852)
CD tracklist:
01. Happy – 3:52
02. Life Is Long – 4:55
03. Go With God – 3:35
04. Life And Death – 5:49
05. The Day Will Never Come – 4:16
06. Surprised By Joy – 3:23
07. Even The Wallflowers – 3:47
08. One-Syllable Words – 4:39
09. In Between – 3:53
10. Love You Out Loud – 4:39
11. In Good Hands – 4:43
12. We’ve Been Waiting For You – 4:54
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Reunion Records. Available at Bandcamp: https://carolynarends.bandcamp.com/album/this-much-i-understand
A full-page advertisement for Carolyn Arends’ album This Much I Understand was featured in the March 1999 issue of CCM Magazine.
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