A couple of years on and Maria chucks the band and release a superb solo album which is really an extension of the sound and sensibility of Lone Justic, horridly overproduced by Mitchell Froom.....who was everwhere at the time. Great songs though and very much overlooked....great amazon review here:
This album did not change the world. This album did not change my life; it is unlikely to change yours... but you may feel empathy, you may feel heartsick, you may feel like you've been put through an emotional grider, you may feel giddy at the anthemic swoops of 'Panic Beach', you may sense the fragility portrayed by the singer. This is not an album that is best judged by 30 second clips or one straight listen. Take time to get to know it, let it into your soul. 'I've Forgotten...' is a nice reversal of the more common cry from a lover who feels their partner has lost passion - here it is the singer that has lost the feeling... "Oh honey please don't cry, I'm sorry and ashamed" is a pitiful admission that more of us can relate to than would admit. 'To Miss Someone' is lyrically along the lines of 10cc's 'I'm Not In Love' but admits more vulnerability, and has been covered by Feargal Sharkey (Maria wrote his UK number one, too). The next track was covered by The Dixie Chicks, but try not to let that put you off, a cry from the lonely and rejected - "I'm smothered by this emptiness". 'Nobody's Child', co-written by Robbie Robertson puts in an appearance before the glorious epic of struggling performers that is 'Panic Beach'. The album then falls away to merely very good until the exquisite love song, 'Breathe'..."I was scared when you came into my room, the walls became the sea, your voice was the moon"... pause to visualise it. The album originally ended with a Richard Thompson number to which Maria's voice is well-suited, but in the days of adding tracks to make you buy the CD format 'Drinkin' In My Sunday Dress' was added; very good as such added tracks go, but programme your CD player to move it to the middle of the album! This a great album from a singer-songwriter who seemed to be at the peak of her powers, although if you like your music loud try a later album.
Later Show Me Heaven and A Good Heart was written about The Heartbreakers Benmomt Tench who quickly replies with You Little Thief, both classic singles performed by Mr F Sharkey....and soon Ricky Ross was intoning that Maria was a Real Gone Kid!
Key Tracks
I've Forgotten What It Was In You (That Put The Need In Me)
Am I The Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way?)
Panic Beach
Has He Got A Friend For Me?
