CHRISTINE ROSANDER
BEEN A LONG TIME
DEVCAT RECORDS
HONEY FOR MY SOUL–LOVE REMAINS–BEEN A LONG TIME–INSIDE THIS BODY–LOVE ME THE WAY I AM–SOUL AND BONE–I WANNA BE–HARD HABIT–MY HEART BELIEVES IT”S SO–TRAVELING MERCY–LOVE IS THE ANSWER–THAT’S HOW THE STORY GOES–THE BITTER AND THE SWEET–YOU MADE ME WHO I AM
Christine Rosander cites her mom, and, later in her life, her collegiate voice teacher, as her biggest inspirations for singing. Add in the influence of her grandfather, who instilled into her the importance of family values, and Christine’s life has been firmly rooted in all these positives. That healing power of love thru music runs thru her latest album, “Been A Long Time,” on her own Devcat Records label.
Christine’s voice is a beautiful instrument, with a wide range. She wrote or co-wrote all fourteen original cuts, and, within this material, sometimes wears her heart on her sleeve as she recounts tales of life, love, loss, redemption, and living in fear for her life as the partner of an alcoholic. She pays tribute to the life lessons taught her by her mother on “Honey For My Soul,” and the poignant, tender, “love crosses over and Love Remains.” The child that lives inside all of us with no hatred or prejudices is the theme of “Inside This Body,” while the promise of everlasting life is addressed in the lullaby-ish “My Heart Believes It’s So.”
Dealing with an abusive partner and the subsequent consequences has Christine feeling that, at times, she’s left with “nothing but Soul And Bone,” and that continual cycle of abusers who make the same mistakes over and over with different partners is the piano-heavy, and somewhat-bluesy “That’s How The Story Goes.” Christine’s plea for acceptance as she is becomes a clarion call to “break down the walls of hate”in the waltz-time, gospel of “Love Is The Answer.”
“Been A Long Time” is a powerful set from Christine Rosander. She offers a strong message of love, peace, and unity for a society that needs it now more than ever, and reminds us all to remain positive even during life’s most troubling hours. Thank you, Christine, for this most outstanding collection! Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow, The Nashville Blues Society.
donandsherylsbluesblog 
Posted by "Heart and Voice on Sleeve" plus "Hard Habit" is #10! - Christine Rosander on March 6, 2018 at 4:04 pm
[…] touching to me that Jazz Weekly and others like The Alternate Root, parcbench.live and Don Crow at Nashville Blues Society are picking up on, “Heart and voice on sleeve”, the emotion that is throughout the album. AND […]