Debra Soule

Vapor
Artist: Debra Soule
Label: Sunhill Records
Length: 12/48:55

Question: Which of these artists does not belong in this list?: Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Debra Soule, Sarah McLachlan, Shawn Colvin, Paula Cole.

Answer: Only Debra Soule has not played Lilith Fair. After listening to Vapor, I can honestly say that she would be a candidate for future tours assuming any of the other artists ever hear this CD.

Soule styles herself somewhat in the "tough broad" mode, a la Melissa Etheridge. Vapor deals with themes of struggle, inner turmoil, and of love. "Amen" shows the artist yearning to walk with Jesus, to draw closer to Him, and is sung in an Ashley Cleveland vocal style. "Perfect Love," "Understood," "Believing," and "Falling in You" are all love songs. "Understood" is performed in a vampy, almost James Bond soundtrack mode. "Believing" sticks out the most, sounding like a Mr. Mister song as done by Beki Hemingway:

I can feel his love despite the thunder
I can see the warmth I'm living under
I never knew it existed, now I can't believe I missed it
I can say that I believe in our love…

An uneasy soul is shown in songs such as "Turning," "Think You Know," and "Worse". "Turning" shows a person who will not accept the help they are offered, while "Think You Know" pleads to a God who is seemingly silent. "Worse" deals with the stubbornness that we sometimes exhibit when we know the right thing to do, and says that "sometimes a blessing wears the glare of a curse".
"Shine" is a tale about guardian angels. "Everlasting," along with "Turning," show Soule's more introspective side and sound a lot like Tori Amos.

Debra Soule reminds me a lot of Eileen Rose and Beki Hemingway, two powerful, yet unknown female artists. Any of these three, if given the right break, would dominate the airwaves, and the three of them together, could make up a stage of their own at the next Lilith Fair. Vapor is a wonderful choice for Sunhill Records' first release.

Brian A. Smith

- The Phantom Tollbooth