Torchlight by Susannah Keith is a nice folk-rock CD, tending towards the rockier side of the equation. The music is good and you can tell that a lot of effort went into the production; unfortunately, the songs rarely draw me beyond the surface.

The musicians certainly deserve credit for what they do. They are John Carter (acoustic guitar, harmony vocals and harmonica), Rick King (electric guitar), Seth Farber (piano, synth, Hammond B3, accordion and piano), Mark Dann (bass), Richard Crooks (drums, percussion), Jeff Pevar (electric guitars, mandolin), Guy De Vito (bass), Matt Smith (electric guitars, acoustic guitar and mandolin), Tony Perrino (Hammond B3) and Mark Epstein (bass). Susannah Keith's singing ranges from wide and clear to soft and smoky.

The CD starts off with "Double Take," a song to a lover who is far away and possibly in a dangerous land. Then comes "Falling Back Down," with a gentleness which almost lets you see the singer falling, arms open wide. (OK, so this song pulls me in for a while.)

The love song "Stubborn Kind of Woman" is forceful and declarative. "Lover's Eye" is a softer sort of love song. But once again, I am left far outside the songs. In both, the lyrics are well done and the role switch between the two is interesting but they still leave me unsatisfied.

"The Path" may be a love song of a strange sorts -- it is obviously being sung to a loved one, but it is full of images and messages that I fail to comprehend. I know there is something important that is being said, but I can't tell what it is.

Things get weird for "Last Train to NYC," which has a very catchy melody that pulls me along to a song I still don't like. There is a regular rhythmic pulse to "Queen of Hearts" which is found in both the music and the singing. "Hearsay" touches on some quirks of communication, but the lyrics themselves are rather quirky and roam around too much.

The CD closes with "House of the Rising Sun." Usually I love this song, but except for the odd moment or two, I don't like this version much.

The short version? Torchlight is a nice CD that could have been better. The talent shines through in the music and "Falling Back Down" shows what they can do. It's not a must-get album, but it's not a bad CD to own, either.