"Overflow" by Tanisha Taitt

a Review by Amy Lotsberg Producer of Collected Sounds

I first heard of Tanisha Taitt about 4 years ago when I hosted a house concert and one of the guests brought me her cassette and said he was a friend of hers and he wanted me to hear her. So she was someone I was curious about and would hear her name (pronounced tan-ISH-ah…NOT tan-EESH-ah) here and there on the internet and wondering what she was up to.

With the release of her CD, Overflow I was lucky enough to receive a copy from the artist herself. Wow, what a voice.

Her opening song "Tale Of The A&R Man" tells the story (presumably autobiographical) about an artist being told she did not have the right look for the business. This kind of thing is such a shame. Just because she doesn't fit the mold (she's not Caucasian and is singing what is typically thought of as white music…folk/pop) she will have a hard time getting the exposure she deserves. But on the other hand, if she can get people to pay attention she can be a trendsetter and open doors for many others. Let's focus on that, shall we?

Taitt has one of those voices that is immediately warm and comforting. I could listen to her sing all day.

Luckily she is also a great songwriter. She's prolific too. Reading her website bio it sounds like she's written over 500 songs which is mind blowing to me. Do I even know 500 songs?

"Two" is a huge stand out song for me, possibly the best on the CD. I can imagine this on the radio right now.

Other stand out songs: "Once I Give It To The Wind", and "Window"

Posted on January 7, 2005