After the disappointing shift in lyrical focus and the lure of pop accessibility tarnished the AC-happy Woven & Spun - and not surprisingly won Nichole Nordeman tons of equally AC-happy fans in the process - the wide eyed songstress serves up her first official album of live material on Live At The Door. She originally gave us a glimpse of what she sounds like in a live setting on the emotional Easter-themed ballad "Why," tacked on at the end of her sophomore album, This Mystery. If you're wondering what this album sounds like, that song is a great indicator of what you'll find on this new collection of concert souvenirs.
Before you get your hopes up with this release, it's valid to point out that this is not a full concert recording. Clocking in at a little over the 37-minute mark, this should be really marketed as a live EP, since it's only 8 songs worth of material. The fact that it is moderately priced at $9.99 at least makes it a somewhat affordable buy, especially for fans of her critically acclaimed third album, since a whopping 4 songs from Woven & Spun made the final cut. Her back catalog gets put on the back burner, with Wide Eyed contributing two tunes and This Mystery just one, with Cyndi Lauper's 80s hit "Time After Time" rounding things out.
The mini concert starts things off with the song that put her on the map, the passionate "To Know You," and the track - as well as the rest of the selections - is given an organic, less synthesized touch than its original, with Nichole interspersing her own inviting mezzo with sparse keyboards, light percussion, and a barely noticeable guitar, putting her understated piano abilities at the forefront. The super-popular "Holy" is next, with an earthy drum loop (which later gets replaced by physical drumming) and a one-fingered accordion serving as an atypical lead-in to the song, which unfolds in a way that is very analogous to the recorded version.
The rhythm players, consisting of an on-point upright bassist and a tranquil drummer/percussionist, along with that same accordionist embellish the quirky "Is It Any Wonder?," which makes an unexpected appearance amidst the other pop selections. Though the song is fairly faithful to the original, Nichole's voice gets a little too experimental and unrestrained whenever she sings "until he/she/they get pulled under," coming across as an older, similarly uncontrolled version of Katy Hudson or Fiona Apple's vocal style. It's probably a safe assumption to assert that the jazzy nature of the song prompted her to try something different and unconventional, even though the output caught on tape sounds a little messy.
The rest of the Woven & Spun picks - "I Am," "Legacy," and "My Offering" - are also all reverently akin to their CD counterparts, and are not big departures from what was originally recorded. Such is the case with the ballad "I Am," which, though calm and peaceful, is almost a carbon copy of the master version found on Spun, and it can even tend to become a little sleepy as the verses progress; and it's only the worship flair towards the end of "My Offering" which ultimately salvages the song, the voices in the audience singing "hallelujah" being the only factor that differentiates the live interpretation from its original.
Just when you thought things were getting a little dull, Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" saves the day. Though simple and laid-back musically, Nichole's emotive voice and heartfelt delivery manages to breathe a fresh air of spiritual significance to a tune that was most certainly intended as a song about love lost. However, the lines "If you're lost, you can look, and you will find me time after time / If you fall, I will catch you - I'll be waiting, time after time" give us a refreshing view of a Savior who is continually chasing after us, and Nordeman sounds very at home while intoning them.
One thing that should make suckers for some sort of artist insight concerning song selection or the story behind a particular tune a little disappointed is the non-inclusion of audio portions of interaction between the artist and the audience. The absence of such a practice - highly common in live recordings - is particularly felt in Live at the Door and can be quite disheartening, considering how good a conversationalist Nichole is, and her ability to engage people with her wit and humor.
All qualms aside, the all-too-short Live At The Door is a mildly satisfying buy for those who fancy themselves ardent Nichole fans, or who have never had a chance of catching her in concert. With the imminent birth of her baby on the horizon, this disc might very well become a good substitute for all the months she'll have to spend off the road in support of her latest (get it?), though it will hardly quench the thirst of those who discovered her craft prior to her days as a Dove favorite.
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2003Reviewed by John WehrleNicole Nordeman's first live CD, Live at the Doors was recorded during a two night stay at the Door in Dallas, Texas. The Door is a small predominantly Christian nightclub, which has been a favorite resting place for many musicians. After seeing Nordeman live a couple of times, I was anxious to hear what the new disc would sound like. Once I saw her perform a nearly 2 hour set on the piano alone.…Similar sounding releases
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