Willing to Wait

Eluding the sophomore jinx with a vengeance, Melissa Ferrick certainly appeased patient fans and critics with her fabulous second effort, Willing to Wait. Ferrick reveals an awful lot of insights into her own psyche through her craft. She battles her inner demons with a pen and a guitar, creating incredibly delicate and intimate poetry through the process. And these aren't just current demons upon which she's waging war. Oh no, Ferrick gets caught in the throes of childhood issues ("Cracker Jack Kid") right alongside the woes of adult relationships ("Faking"). She's emotionally honest and raw in these songs. For the most part, the simple arrangements and sparse instrumentation support that same vision. A couple of more aggressive numbers find her plugged in and cranked up and these cuts seem a little out of step with the surrounding musical geography. No doubt the record company needed something more radio-friendly. Maybe they didn't think "Til You're Dead" was catchy enough. But that shuffling beat and the chorus of "Because I thought love was hard, I tried with all my might. And I thought that love lasted, so I always stayed the night" is always a crowd-pleaser. And "Gotta Go Now" is one of the most all-inclusive, politically relevant commentaries out there.