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What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us? Just a stranger on the bus trying to make his way home. These three sentences from the unmistakeable "One of Us" vaulted Joan Osborne onto the world stage back in 1995. The album was Relish and the time way ripe for the young woman from Anchorage, Kentucky to start a music career and hope for a legacy. Five years have passed since that initial release but the folksy-blues patron saint has returned.
A free spirited album, Righteous Love, is a collage of emotion and musical influences. This same free spirit was evident in Osborne from a very young age. Growing up "I used to go out in the backyard and sing to the birds and try to get them to sing back to me," Osborne states. This early practice has reaped dividends for her, and her vocal ability is demonstrated throughout the album.
Fans of "St. Teresa" from the Relish album will find familiarity in the voice of "Safety in Numbers." The title track of "Righteous Love" reminds the listener of late fifties rock 'n' roll, or perhaps the Hollywood release "Eddie and the Cruisers."
After finishing a whirlwind two year touring schedule following her arrival in 1995, Osborne finally used her free time (and money) to pursue her eclectic interests, which include social programs (Planned Parenthood), feminist issues (the online publication of Heroine magazine) and travel. Like Canadian Alanis Morisette she too traveled East after a successful debut album and found a connection to the music and culture.
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Her other worldwide endeavors include playing for the Dalai Lama, spending time writing and playing with Cuban artists, recording with Celtic legends The Chieftains,and singing with both Luciano Pavorotti and Bob Dylan. Needless to say, Osborne is well-traveled and well-respected. These worldy influences are found throughout "Righteous Love", most notably withthe use of the electric sitar on several tracks.
An American Amanda Marshall with a heavier blues influence, Joan Osborne does not let the current industry definition of Top 40 music prevent her from singing her own song. To the Britney Spears, Eminems and 'N Syncs of the music world, Osborne notes "I haven't really thought about trying to do something that's current or hip right now. There's an Oscar Wilde quote: 'Beware of being too fashionable, or you'll soon be unfashionable'. I try to dig at the roots of the things that I'm drawn to , because those things, to me, are timeless. And if I take my inspiration from that, there's a greater chance the music I make will also be timeless." Well said indeed.
By Erin Boyle, CanEHdian.com
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