Let's ride! The three guys and one girl (vocals/guitar) in Daughter Eve show immediate talent, and I jump eagerly on board as the record opens with the rockin' title cut. They have a good feel for writing solid rock and roll songs that roll on without much drag. A good feel for rock lyrics as well, and I enjoy the Christian themes and word pictures delivered by Marnie's flavorful vocals. She can smooth it out or rough it up, wherever the song's path takes her.
The album has a retro feel along the lines of old Led Zeppelin or Barnabas. The lack of effects in the production weakens the effect, though; I would have loved for Jimmy Page to have produced this! The rhythm section needs that Zeppelin punch. Make the drums more muscular in the mix like John Bonham's, give Marnie a little more vocal-mike treatment ala Robert Plant, and power up Paul Stebner's guitar a bit, and this record would improve vastly. You wouldn't have to do a thing with the songs, just heavy them up some.
The band proves it has what it takes to do a good record, with these clever songs and the crack musicianship. I'll definitely play it in the backyard when my friends are over.
3 tocks
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 1997Reviewed by Josh SpencerThis is pretty interesting. Daughter Eve's second CD shows off a relatively original brand of rock--a fusion of modern, girl-fronted, guitar-driven, alterna-pop with 70's classic rock musicianship. Singer Marnie strikes me as Letters to Cleo or Miss Angie trying to belt it out like old Heart. In fact, a cover of "Barracuda" or "Magic Man" would have fitted in nicely here. Marnie can be…
