REVIEW

Lonie Walker
"Change Is Good"
By Shannon Smith

Finally, the first all-original CD Wonderfans have spent years waiting for is here. Patrons of Chicago's Underground Wonder Bar (10 E. Walton, Chicago) and a following from all over the world, demonstrated forbearance; which at first and thirty-seventh listen of "Change is Good" proves to be beyond advantageous.

"Change is Good" is Lonie Walker's third full-length CD. Her first two CDs, "All that I've Got I Gave to Music (1995)," & "Live in Paris (1998)" were recorded live at Underground Wonder Bar and The Maxwell CafŽ, respectively. With this CD, however, Walker invites her audience into the studio with her for the first time.

This invitation offers an experiential journey through astounding arrangements, eclectic sounds and musical styles, and both real and imagined narratives. Lonie's artistic and natural ability to tell a story and to evoke a reaction through her music, lyrics, and use of voice has never been portrayed so well.

Lonie moves her audience through a full-range of emotion with this 2001 release. From the heart wrenching "I'll Drop My Pride", the empowering "Change is Good", the eerie "Who's Gonna Tell Her the Ship is Sinking" (Ghosts), the lulling "Dreamin'", to the energizing "Baby Blue Blues(The Chonka Chonk Song)," Walker's own emotional reactions to the stories she tells are appropriately matched and demonstrated using varying musical genres, including (but not limited to) blues, jazz, soul, and rock.

The loyal listener can be expected to, once again, be awed by Lonie Walker's mystical voice, as they are welcomed into her world. The newcomer is struck, and most likely blown away, by a profound display of raw talent that can be found in Walker's sultry voice, powerful piano playing, and her ability to find other musicians that actually meet her where she is.