Carolyn Dawn Johnson - Room With a View
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Free Music Notes for Room With a View
Free Music Review: Hands down, the best debut of the year!
Hit: 5 Stars
Carolyn Dawn Johnson may be a new name as a recording artist, but many country fans probably know her better than they think. In addition to singing backup for Martina McBride, Carolyn has also written numerous songs for other country artists, including Lila McCann, Jennifer Day, and is best known for penning Chely Wright's breakthrough hit, "Single White Female." In addition, her first two singles have made the top thirty and she has spent this summer touring with Reba McIntire and McBride on the highly acclaimed "Girls Night Out Tour" With this list of accomplishments under her belt, Carolyn's first album, ROOM WITH A VIEW, has been a highly anticipated release. Fortunately for music fans, it lives up to every expectation one would have of this talented songwriter.ROOM WITH A VIEW is an excellent reflection of Carolyn's talent, and is easily one of the best debut albums released this year. Carolyn has a charming, beautiful voice that is reminiscent of country divas like Deana Carter and Martina and portrays the lyrics of the songs perfectly. While the singles "Georgia" and "Complicated" are definitely two of the strongest songs on the record, there are plenty of wonderful tracks on this album. "Just Another Girl" and "I Don't Want You To Go" are definitely potential hit records, while "You Are" and "Masterpiece" (dedicated to her aunt and uncle) are gorgeous songs sure to provoke emotion from the listener. ROOM WITH A VIEW seems to be a concept album of sorts, as each of the songs deal with some aspect of relationships, beginning with "Georgia," a song about a woman leaving her painful past behind (you can just hear the pain in Carolyn's voice when she sings this) to "Room With a View," which portrays a person who has found contentment in his or her life.
Added to the strength of ROOM WITH A VIEW is the fact that Carolyn wrote or co-wrote every song on the album. The songs she co-wrote feature an all-star cast of writers, include Shaye Smith, Tommy Polk, and Troy Verges (who also co-wrote Jessica Andrews' number one hit, "Who I Am," as well as songs for Three of Hearts and Meredith Edwards).
Carolyn Dawn Johnson is an amazing singer and songwriter and is sure to make as big a name for herself as a performer as she did working behind the scenes. Her debut album is astonishingly good for an artist's first record, and showcases the talent of one of country music's rising stars. In the words of the eighth track on the album, ROOM WITH A VIEW is truly a "masterpiece."
Free Music Review: Refreshing Debut
Hit: 5 Stars
For a few years now, Alberta native Carolyn Dawn Johnson has been supplying country's superstars with some of their biggest hits. You might recognize a few, such as "Single White Female" (Chely Wright) and "Downtime" (Jo Dee Messina). Now she's breaking out as an artist with her debut album "Room With A View". At first I was a little reluctant to buy the cd. I've had bad experiences before with songwriters turning artists. For some reason they can write a hit, they just can't sing them (perfect example: Matraca Berg). I'm glad to say that for once I was wrong, this is one songwriter that CAN ACTUALLY sing. I first became aware of Carolyn Dawn Johnson, the singer, when she released "Georgia". I fell in love with the song THE minute I heard it. It's a powerful tune about a woman finally finding the courage to leave the man she loves. In the lyrics she says that if she's not over him by the time she gets to Georgia, she'll keep driving until she does. I can really relate to these lyrics. I mean, who hasn't been in a relationship where no matter how hard they say they were going to leave, they don't, until finally one day they find the courage to let go. I really didn't think Carolyn could top "Georgia", and that's when she released "Complicated". The song's about a woman who has a crush on a friend and doesn't really quite know how to tell him without hurting their friendship. Yet ANOTHER song I could relate to. It seems to me that Carolyn has a knack for being able to relate to other people's feelings and experiences. That's what makes her such a talented songwriter and an even better artist.
There are, of course, other great songs on the cd. They include the title track, "Room With A View" (written for her late brother), "You Are", the fun "A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That", and "Just Another Girl". Carolyn is the voice of every woman who's ever lost someone, had a crush, or found something in themselves they didn't know they had.
If "Room With A View" is any indication of Carolyn Dawn Johnson's future as an artist, I think she should be really excited. If she isn't successful in country music, which is my fear, she could always make a name for herself in the adult contemporary world. Talent like hers should not be wasted. If you're looking for a great contemporary country album, buy "Room With A View". It's something you can relate to.
Gennie Bailey-Rogers
Free Music Review: Not Just Another 'Chick' Singer!
Hit: 5 Stars
CDJ can do it all! She writes, she plays, she sings! I wonder if there is anything she CAN'T do. After having successes writing for artists like Chely Wright ("Single White Female") and Jo Dee Messina ("Downtime") and singing demos around Nashville, CDJ is out on her own now, with a collection of awesome, awesome songs.
The CD kicks off with her first single "Georgia", a tune co-written by Troy Verges ("Who I Am"), about getting the heck out of dodge in the wake of a heartbreak. It is followed by "Just Another Girl", which is an upbeat, autobiographical tune, CDJ wrote it after finding out her long distance love was engaged - to someone else! "I'll Think of You That Way" is a great tune about the choices we make in love, sort of like the next track - "Love Is Always Worth the Ache". They lead into "Complicated", which is my favorite, favorite song on the CD, it is a perfect song to crank up and sing along with. "I Don't Want You to Go" is a plea from CDJ to take the time to smell the roses. "You Are" is a thank you from CDJ for being everything she needs, it has a great hook. The next song is a tribute to her aunt, uncle and cousin, it is called "Masterpiece". It is a beautiful, touching song that really comes from CDJ's heart, and it shows in the inflections in her voice. "Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That" is a great song about the give and take in a relationship. "One Day Closer to You" has a very "Downtime" vibe to it - it is very catchy and singable. CDJ's passion shows the title track, the closer to the American version of the CD...
...BUT, I own the Canadian version, which includes two more tracks, the butt-kicking "Tumble and Roll" and "Not Enough to Stay", which includes my favorite line "I am sure one more try is bound to end in goodbye.."
This CD is so great, I have listened to it beginning to end, over and over and I think it gets better all the time! CDJ will be around for a long time and I look forward to hearing more from her!
Free Music Review: A "Masterpiece"!
Hit: 5 Stars
I waited so long for this album to finally be released. Carolyn was first known as a songwriter, writing hits for Lila McCann, Jo Dee Messina, Mindy McCready, Shedaisy, and the number one song "Single White Female" sung by Chely Wright. Carolyn's CD was worth the wait. The things she sings about are very relatable to a lot of people, especially young women. Even in the sad songs on the CD, Carolyn always offers a ray of hope. She wrote or co-wrote all 11 songs on the CD. Some of the best tracks are "Georgia", a song with a familiar theme (a woman leaving her man because he hasn't proposed) was the first single at radio. "Just Another Girl" is different than a lot of songs out there, that's what's good about it. Here Carolyn sings of how an ex-boyfriend gets married to someone else, so now he sees her as "just another girl". "Complicated" is the big hit right now at radio, and deservedly so. This song has another very relatable theme to it. It's about liking a friend and not being able to decide whether to tell them how you feel. "I Don't Want You To Go" is the most upbeat song on the album and it just makes you want to get up and dance or drive with your windows down. "Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That" has an interesting take on life, about how we need to have a little bit of bad to be able to enjoy the good in life. This shows the depth that Carolyn has. "Masterpiece" and "Room With A View" are both songs about death. One can't help but cry when first hearing these songs. But that doesn't stop them from being great. In fact "Room With A View" about the loss of Carolyn's brother is the best song on the album. It's simply written and Carolyn sings it with an emotion that completely pulls you in. If you want to listen to some songs with substance, you will enjoy this CD. Carolyn is the next big thing in country music.Free Music Review: A "Masterpiece"
Hit: 5 Stars
Carolyn Dawn Johnson, "Room With A View", Arista Nashville, Produced by Paul WorleyIt's been said that Nashville signs pretty faces whether they have any real talent or not. That they believe it's the only important marketing tool. Youth and beauty. As true as that seems to be with alot of acts, it's definitly not the case here. Carolyn Dawn Johnson IS pretty. I won't take that away from her. But she's also talented, and you have to give her that. Starting with her co-write on Chey Wright's #1 "Single White Female" and now with her own fine singing and writing under the skillfull supervision of producer Paul Worley, this Canadian- born artist has come out of the chute with an album to be proud of. I've always thought that if a songwriter can sing as well as they write then nobody can express their music better than themselves. From beginning to end, there's not a bad track on the album. Carolyn's clear fresh vocals in some instances have a Sheryl Crow feel ( admittedly one of her influences). She sells a song well. The writing shines throughout and Carolyn proves she is a tunesmith to be reckoned with even without a co-writer as on "Just Another Girl" Five of the tunes are prime especially lyricly, "Love IsWorth The Ache", "Complicated", "I Don't Want You To Go", "Masterpiece" and "Room With A View". The musical arrangements are kicking. Overall there is a pop-rock progressive feel so if you lean towards the old traditional country sound this one's probably not for you. Melodiclly every song is strong. "Little Bit Of This, Little Bit Of That" has a cool grooving feel with some really creative guitar playing. Carolyn's strong vocals, writing abilities, the cool production and arrangements make the album a winner. The sensitive, heart-felt "Masterpiece" should've been the title cut because that's exactly what this album is. I say buy It .