Shannon O’Connor
Low in Paradise
Varrga Records – 70713
visit Shannon on
myspace
maybe on cd universe
Shannon O’Connor is not breaking any new ground but there is a refreshing honesty to her songs that comes through with fine voice. She is a single mom in a small town however she doesn’t throw blame around onto others, but rather she accepts responsibility and faces the future with a smile on her face. There is a genuine country twang to her voice and she uses it to reinforce the songs and not as a gimmick. Her songs explore many of the themes that are faced by women and particularly single women with children. She lets her music go over a lot of the different landscapes of country music, from straight ahead country, “ Falling For You,” to old timey western swing, “Stolen Moments,” to Bluegrass inflected country, “Down On My Knees.” She is allowed to do this with great ease because she has a sharp, crack
tight band behind her, they go with her in support on every change with never a waver. She wrote 8 of the 10 songs on this disc, the other two are traditional songs she did some additional lyrics for, “Salty Dog” and “Down On My Knees.” It seems a bit short, a bit over 35 minutes, for a debut record but what is here is a very fine beginning for this singer/songwriter. She has lofty dreams for this disc, and is using it as a way for her to attempt to locate the father of her 10 year old daughter.