CAROLINE WATERS: Venus Envy

I suppose it’s no surprise that for someone to become a country’s “musical ambassador for international events” they’d be an impressive talent, and that’s exactly what one will find with Caroline Waters (who does just that for her native Norway).

Her voice has a greater passion, quality and strength than the majority of famed divas (such as Mariah Carey and Celine Dion, with their contrived vocal gimmickry), as she draws the power of Sheena Easton and the ethereal beauty of Tori Amos and Enya. To add to it, Waters not only has a gifted voice, but is a talented and inspired songwriter, lyricist and multi-instrumentalist (playing keyboards, acoustic guitar and percussion on this album). “Venus Envy” marks the third full-length release for Waters and was recorded at her Los Angeles studio (of which she also now resides in the city, with a green card and status as an “Alien of Extraordinary Ability In the Arts”) with producer Greg Mathieson (who has previously worked with Cher, Sheena Easton and Barbra Streisand), also aided by Katisse Buckingham, who adds a strong hip-hop and funk flavor to Waters gentle jazz persuasions.

The album opens with the smart, energetic jazz-pop tune of affirmation, “I Am Venus”, -a more creative play on Meredith Brooks’ “Bitch.” Though it’s the second song in, it’s “And I Pretend” that shows why Waters is such a legend in the making. A song that few trip-hop masters could compare to, she croons throughout, “And I pretend that you sleep by my side/ And I pretend that you kiss me goodnight.” In “Back On the Inside” Buckingham makes one of several appearances mid-song with his rapping commentary, but it’s with “Please Don’t Run Away” the similarity to an Eminem/ Lisa “Left Eye” Lopez cross is amusingly all too real. There are many more highlights, from the mood-ballad “Beautiful Little Girl” to the beautiful orchestration of “Little Angel.” In “Deep Blue Sea” Waters’ vivid Nordic fantasy-life is portrayed through an intense beat, expressive use of falsetto a la Kate Bush, and again, fantastic lyrics: “Subtle little movements in the deep below us/ Trying to take our breath away.”