O’Connor sends listener running to the mountains

By Olivia Biagi
Collegian Reporter
October 4, 2006

Jennifer O’Connor’s latest attempt of a record, Over the Mountain, Across the Valley, and Back to the Stars falls short of the “masterpiece” Matador, her label, claims it to be. O’Connor wrote her music a few decades late, and her lyrics share the properties of cotton candy: sugary and no substance.

“Sleeping is the way I move/ Over the mountain/ Across the valley/ And back to the stars” is the weak hook of the opening track “Century Estates.” The cheesy lyrics are found throughout the record: “I will love you like a woodpecker can only love a tree” (“Dirty City Blues”) and “Today, today, today I stop guessing and give you my heart/ Today, today, today is a blessing/ You’re far and I’m missing you” (“Today”).

The worst, however, is track 11, “Tonight We Ride.” That one title alone is enough to turn you off to the entire album. “Tonight we ride/ Aim high/ Shoot the bright lights right out of the sky,” “We’ll get so high/ I hope we never come down” and “We should live here/ Way up in the stratosphere” are the “genius” lyrics O’Connor sings. The words do not make sense half the time, and do nothing to stimulate any brain waves of the listener.

For half of the record, the music component of the songs are similar to that of Jewel pre-“Intuition.” However, the other six songs are somewhat catchy, upbeat pop tunes that break the monotony of the slow, strumming acoustic guitar. “Exeter, Rhode Island,” “Complicated Rhyme” and “Perfect Match” are catchy enough after a few listens to earn a small amount of respect, and are the only songs worth listening to out of the 12 on the album.

Vocally, O’Connor is great. Her voice parallels that of Liz Phair, a deep blues-like voice. But the weak lyrics and outdated music detracts from her talent. While there are some songs you might consider downloading, there is nothing exceptional about the record as a whole, and it is not worth buying.

biagio1@lasalle.edu