Linda Draper has been compared to everyone from Joan Baez to Joni Mitchell. Such comparisons aside, make no mistake -- she's an original, creating her own music and singing in a sweet and distinct voice.

This is her fourth full-length album with independent producer Kramer and the Planting Seeds label, and it's bound to be as successful as its predecessors.

Draper is a poetess who writes and sings her own lyrics in what can best be described as a folk style. Is it really folk music? Yes, because it deals with the same emotions in the same timeless quality as that we normally accord that name.

She began her career in church choir, which left impressions implanted in her music today. Later, she attended the SUNY Purchase Music Conservatory and performed at Renaissance faire venues while exploring for her own self-expression. She has played in a number of New York City clubs and at festivals here and abroad.

Some personal favorites on this album are the haunting "Candle Opera," "Seven Black Crows" (a lament for a dying loved one), "The Sleeping Giant," "Parasite" and "Jezebel," which has an odd echo effect that makes it almost eerie.

What you hear on this album is primarily Draper and her guitar. It's pure and simple. It's beautiful music, and that should be more than enough. But, pay attention to the lyrics and you know you're hearing poetry.

by John R. Lindermuth
Rambles.NET
10 December 2005

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