This week we have a review of the debut of Jill Paquette, the best new
signee to Reunion Records in the last five years. Her simple acoustic style
and youthful, passionate music are nice to listen to. This week also finds a
couple more Christmas discs in stores, and on that, watch for our Christmas
section of the site to make its glorified return. Also, keep Fono in your
prayers... check out the news for more on that.

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JILL PAQUETTE - JILL PAQUETTE (2003)
by Bert Gangl

While some folks pursue the notion of fame and fortune as if their very
lives depended on it, Jill Paquette seems to have fallen into her own
musical career almost by accident. A French-Canadian with European and
Native American roots, Paquette's unlikely heritage helped her to earn a
scholarship to Prairie Bible College in Alberta. As it would happen,
Paquette stopped in at a local coffee shop one afternoon while walking to
basketball practice and, at the urging of friends, borrowed a guitar to play
a self-penned composition. That performance netted the young
singer/songwriter a slot in classmate Matt Brouwer's band, with whom she
toured Alberta. As an offshoot of her growing exposure, Paquette put
together a demo recording which eventually made its way to Nashville and led
to her signing with Reunion Records in early 2003.

An imposingly talented multi-instrumentalist, Paquette's self-titled debut
shows the British Columbia native taking on a fairly broad range of musical
styles. The leadoff track, "Come to Me," combines the earthy folk-rock of
Jennifer Knapp with Leigh Nash's wispy and ethereal vocals to fine effect.
The equally impressive "Forget," on the other hand, harks back to Alanis
Morissette's rapid-fire, near stream of consciousness lyrical delivery on
last year's "Hands Clean" single. The delightful acoustic ballad "One of
These Days" adheres closely in the soaring, atmospheric template laid out by
Collective Soul's "The World I Know." And "Lift My Eyes" shows that, for
all of her inherent folk and rock inclinations, Paquette is eminently
capable of turning out the occasional pure pop gem.

In fairness, some of Paquette's attempts at making the grand lyrical
statement can come across as slightly overreaching. And while the overly
close observance of her influences certainly lends the album a certain
measure of accessibility, it simultaneously renders a portion of it at least
a little superfluous. That said, while the first outing falls just shy of
establishing a unique identity for its creator, it nonetheless holds its own
quite nicely against the debut efforts from any of the artists mentioned
above. And, if ever there were a textbook formula for long-term success in
music, a proficiency like Paquette's would have to figure pretty highly in
the equation. As it stands, the first record is a pleasing, well-crafted
collection of songs that hints at an extraordinarily gifted performer
situated just on the cusp of parlaying her remarkable underlying potential
into something truly distinctive.

Read more about Jill Paquette at her official site:
http://www.jillpaquette.com/


WIN A SONY MINIDISC PLAYER AND AUTOGRAPHED WILSHIRE GEAR!
In case you have not heard, former Rocketown Records duo Wilshire are back.
Their new disc, New Universe, is out now on Columbia Records and brings this
husband-wife duo's music to another level. We noticed there's a contest to
win an autographed Wilshire guitar, a signed Wilshire poster, or even a Sony
MiniDisc Player. Plus, even better, they have a nice interview with the band
and the music video for their new song, "Special". We think you should check
it out:
http://www.campuscircle.net/wilshire/


OTHER NEW STUFF ON cMUSICWEB.COM

Review: Fields of Grace - Big Daddy Weave
http://cMusicWeb.com/pop/bigdaddyweave/fieldsofgrace.shtml

Review: The Fill EP - Taylor
http://cMusicWeb.com/rock/taylor/fill.shtml

Review: A Beautiful Glow - Rock 'n' Roll Worship Circus
http://cMusicWeb.com/worship/worshipcircus/beautifulglow.shtml


AVAILABLE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28 (at cMusicWeb.com or your local music store)

PURCHASE THIS MUSIC AND MORE AT GRASSROOTSMUSIC.COM:
http://www.grassrootsmusic.com/?associateid=249

LIVE FROM CINCINNATI... BRINGIN' IT HOME - NICOLE C. MULLEN
Filling the long gap between Nicole C. Mullen discs is, of course, a live CD
and DVD of her show. All those rabid GMA pop lovers probably already have
the CD and DVD, even though it just came out yesterday.

A MICHAEL ENGLISH CHRISTMAS - MICHAEL ENGLISH
The early 90s pop star takes a tip on how to come back from Amy Grant...
record a Christmas album! Here's ten Christmas favorites recorded by
English.

THE OTHER SIDE - BILLY RAY CYRUS
The rough-looking Country Music guy who stars on PAX TV's original drama
"Doc" gets his first crossover disc INTO the Christian market.

UNDER THE LIGHT OF A SINGLE STAR - DUANE STEPHENSON
This indie release that may be one of the better Christmas release of the
year is this one from Duane Stephenson. Featuring at least as many new
Christmas songs as classic ones, this disc has the all-acoustic treatment,
with mandolins and other exciting instruments. Plus, this PICK OF THE WEEK
has guest appearances by Shane & Shane and Wes King.


THE LATEST NEWS HEADLINES
- Fono Loses It All In California Fires
- Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand This Christmas
- And more!

View all the latest stories on cMusicWeb.com:
http://cMusicWeb.com/


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http://cMusicWeb.com/
a different approach to music
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