Feeling a warm glow of sweet sadness.
I've just stepped out of Natalie's world.
It isn't a place that you can necessarily get to quickly;the simple act of placing the disk in your CD player does not guarantee entrance.
You see Natalie does not make it easy for you.
You have to go with respect and understanding. Its a place where aching melencholy is tempered with courage and tenderness. Call it grace under pressure. Natalie doesn't give you the words- she grapples with them as if knowing that in balance they could never really be precise enough. But somehow it is all there in her voice.
If you decide to enter Natalie's world, you will only be given shadows of meaning. These are the ground rules. In "Come In Tokyo" she may or may not be describing the strange bittersweet rush of hearing her music played on the radio with the words: When my lucky light lit up the sky/I got all choked up inside". She dedicates it with love and brotherhood to all her fellow artists in the USA. Perhaps that's a hint. Perhaps it isn't. In "Patience" she talks about the power that is out there and beyond words when she advises the subject of the song: "You'll see what to do once the silence pierces you through". Each word is a commitment, and as is the case with all the true and best artists, exacts its toll on both singer and listener; nothing is wasted. her delivery embodies the supremely casual cool of Chrissie Hynde and Bob Dylan, but unlike these singers her words are always just under the radar. Its up to you to do the listening.
Maybe the key moment on the CD is when she says: "Some folks just can't tell what is or isn't real". If you are someone that can tell, then you will be welcome in Natalie's world. - David Wildman
