Marion Walsh has been steadily migrating north all of her life. Born and raised in Owings Mills, Md., a Baltimore suburb, she began singing as a child because her father was a music director for several vocal groups in the area. Later she moved to Boston, Mass., where she played the folk clubs and coffee houses, and then moved to Canada, where she now lives and bases her career.

Her music, though, is still firmly rooted in American folk and country. Guitars, mandolins, fiddles and dobros make up her accompaniment, and each of her songs is firmly anchored in the folk tradition. Her lyrics, though, are modern; if the melody is yesterday, the words are today, and her voice glides smoothly through them.

Walsh doesn't try to sell her songs; instead she holds them out for you, allowing you to look at each of them for yourself. When she succeeds, as in "Home to Home" and "I Believe," the results are stunning. Occasionally she misses the mark, however: "End of the Night," for example, reminds me of too many other songs, and a couple of her other offerings are not up to the best of the CD.

At this stage of her development, Walsh can probably best be called promising, but the promise is a strong one and when it pays off the result is going to be something good to hear.

[ visit the artist's website ]