I know that this is news that many members of the GFM family have been waiting to hear. Vivian Green is back! The album Beautiful will be released April 6, 2010. The single, “Beautiful” is out now and available for purchase here. The good folks over at E1 Music (Vivian’s new label) have been kind enough provide us with this wonderful new music so that we might bring you the production in its entirety.
Before I weigh in with my little bit of color commentary, I wanted to provide you all with a quote from Vivian herself regarding this project.
“I’ve grown a lot, as a singer and as a writer and as a person. I’m more seasoned and more confident now, and I’m better at knowing what I want to do. Now I allow myself to make music that I like, as opposed to music that someone else thinks I should be doing.”
I had the privilege of listening to the song before I discovered this quote, but it could not sum up my impression of the music any better. It sounds like music that is a direct expression from the artist, not filtered through anyone else. Personally, I gravitate towards music like that and I believe that there are many of you who feel the same way. “Beautiful” is exactly that: beautiful.
A piano-driven ode to positivity. Uncluttered, unfettered pure music. Intimate as sitting in the same room as the artist; is the production. Vivian implores us to “Tell her when she looks beautiful” and it is a call that is universal and a rightfully deserved celebration of womanhood. The landscape is littered with far too many messages that tell women otherwise. I’m hoping that many will become early and often adapters of this credo.
From 2002’s breakout album A Love Story to 2005’s personal Vivian fans of this Philadelphia native have come to expect a certain level of creativity and musicality when the name Vivian Green is mentioned. If I had to hedge my bets (without having heard the forthcoming album) using the overall arc of the new single, I believe those expectations are well intact and quite possibly primed to take on some new directions. Looking forward to the new project!
01 Beautiful (album version) by GrownFolksMusic
Ivan Orr is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, performer, and writer. A native of Charlottesville, Virginia Ivan was involved with the forming and nascent days of The Music Resource Center as its first Program Director. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Music, Ivan currently resides in Richmond, VA where he maintains an active performance and production schedule while serving as the Music Editor for Grown Folks Music, a position he has held since 2010.
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