‘One Up’ is CHERYL B. ENGELHARDT'S third CD release. This American singer/songwriter falls within the rock and pop category, and this CD effectively marries upbeat keyboard arrangements with some deep lyrics, that touch upon personal relationships and their problems.
Starting off with ‘Steaming Hearts’, a track that begins with an almost a cappella section before becoming a rock ballad, heavy on keyboard and strings. The lyrics cover the theme of difficulty within relationships and how ultimately the heart will overcome the pain: - “Steaming hearts' glory comes from rising up from pain/ The pieces put together are forgotten all the same/ It's the one who knew you best who can pull you to your worst/ And the one you'd thought would last is the one who drops out first.”
This gets the CD off to a good start, and the tracks that follow vary between pop and rock, although two tracks are slightly more dance floor orientated. There appears to be a distinct theme relating to the weather conditions, (especially snow) that runs through this CD, starting with the dance style track ‘Side to Side’, which features Vega Teknique rapping. Cheryl’s lyrics touching on the need for balance and not rushing in when it comes to love: - “When I wanna go fast I gotta take it slow/ Need to feel the side to side to regain control/ If you could step in my boots then you would surely know/ It's not about how high how long how deep the snow.”
Following on from this is the piano based anthem ‘Moving Towards Love’ which comes across as a heavier version of the sort of track that The Coors were so good at when they were at their best: “I put my coat on, I thought it would snow/ I put my hat on, the TV told me so/ Where is the forecast that tells me what to do?/ The road map to what I want if what I want is you?”
The track ‘I Luv U’, which obviously takes its spelling from the Noddy Holder school of English, is upbeat and fun in its simplicity, with a fragile, almost child-like vocal backed with piano. Once again, love is the theme: - “Walkin' down the city street/ pockets full of chocolate treats/ Air is clear, sky is blue. Nothin' on my mind but you.”
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Other tracks on the album which really stand out are the piano and synth based ‘Memory’, an aching song of love and loss, here, Cheryl’s lyrics hit the target perfectly: - “I don't need a memory. I need something to holdand I choose you/ I choose you. So won't you come back home, Which is wherever I roam."
‘The Kid in Me’ is a rock based song very much in the style of R.E.M., and with an opening lyric of “I sip my coffee and you drink your tea.” (a juxtaposition of the opening line of Hazel O’Connor’s ‘Will You’) you know that it will be good.
The album closes with the piano based rock song ‘In the Light of the Dawn’, which allows the album to go out on a high, a song of hope and dreams of the future, the lyrics are once again very apt: - “In the light of the dawn where the troubles of yesterday have gone/ In the light of the dawn we found a place where we belong. We will be strong, like we knew all along, in the light of the dawn.”
Overall, I thought this was a good album, which is the sort that will appeal to a broad section of the CD buying public, and is well worth checking out.
Cheryl B. Engelhardt website
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