REVIEW: Billie Myers, Growing Pains (Universal)
- Jon Steltenpohl
Billie Myers' debut, Growing, Pains, sounds disarmingly like the second coming of Cher backed by Richard Marx's band. "Kiss the Rain", the first single, is an all-out, power ballad tailored keenly for the VH-1 and Top-40 crowd. Lonely and separated from her lover, Myers finds herself hearing voices in the background of a phone call. And so she pleads, "Kiss the rain, whenever you need me / Kiss the rain, whenever I'm gone / If your lips feel lonely and thirsty / kiss the rain and wait for the dawn...".
Sappy? Sure.
Pitiful? Possibly.
A Casey Casem long distance dedication? Without a doubt.
To be honest, Growing, Pains is the type of album that reviewers of cool, hip, alternative publications aren't supposed to like. Littered througout Growing, Pains are the crunching guitars, generic drum beats, and echoed vocals that typified late 80's pop music before "alternative" and "grunge" took over the airwaves. Accordingly, "Kiss the Rain" is a fair representation of the entire album. The lyrics are emotionally and sexually charged, and the music features a lot of power chords. The sound's been updated a bit to include a little Alanis Morrissette crunch to it, but you can't help but wondering if Myer's was the lead singer for 4 Non Blondes.
There are a few hidden surprises. The liner notes include poem versions of the songs which are more powerful than the most of the song's lyrics. Only the last track of the album breaks from the Top-40 mold. "Much Change Too Soon" is a quiet surprise that finds Myers comfortably slipping into a smokey diva mode. There are no backup singers and no percussion. All you'll find are a rhythm guitar, strings, and what sounds like a jazzy, melancholy trumpet. This track and the poems included on the liner notes hint at a deeper Billie Myers than we see on this debut. Given Tori Amos' debut experiment as guitar goddess, it's easy to imagine that there's more to Myers than a VH-1-abee.
Still, set the hints of future greatness aside, and there's still something to be said for Growing, Pains. Desmond Child's production skills are simply phenomenal, and within all of his layers, you find that each song has a decent, memorable melody. Myers' wailing vocals steal too much of their style from Cher, yet she belts out each song with an unwavering conviction that renders the comparison irrelevant. And while certain surly reviewers might demur, Cher has sold a ton albums, and there are certainly fans of the "Kiss the Rain" single out there who will love and cherish this album also.
