Jacquie Walters

Review: Step into the light; Jacquie Walters
7 December 2006
Going to a concert by Jacquie Walters is like going on a treasure hunt, except you don’t have to look too hard to find the gems. When I look over the notes I took during her concert tonight, I find a list of them – pithy little lines I’ve written down to take away and think about later because I didn’t want to miss what might be coming next. Like the political comment, addressing David Lange, you may have flown too close to the sun, but ‘we made your wings’. How many people could we say that about? How many people get built up and up until they start to believe their own publicity, go one step too far and
wonder why they fall flat on their faces, while the builder-uppers nod and sneer and say ‘I knew that would happen’?
At a small town stop, Jacquie tells us she ‘topped up on kindness from a stranger’ – luckily that’s not the kind of fuel anyone can capitalise on, so hopefully it’s in no danger of running out.
It’s hard to write a love song – so many have been written, it’s hard to find an original way to say it, but Jacquie gave us a whole concert full of them: ‘I hope the road to me finds you’, for instance, in ‘Driving home’. And my personal favourite I think, the first line in her first number of the evening, ‘My love wears rain like a silver necklace’ – after all, with our present weather patterns, there can never be too many ways to see rain in a positive light!
Reviewed by Janette Munneke
(Balladeer, Acoustic Routes Folk Club, Wellington)

Kerry Molloy – The Bay Report
Kerikeri based musician and writer Jacquie Walters has released her solo cd, ‘Step Into The Light’. A collection of 13 songs, the album is melancholic and soulful, featuring Jacquie on guitar plus others, including Mark Laurent (guitar) and Janet Holborow (cello).
Jacquie, who hails from Christchurch, (later Nelson, Wellington, and Auckland), started creating music as a young child.
She later trained as a singer and was a member of ‘Pounamu’, performing at folk clubs and festivals around New Zealand.
For some years Jacquie studied and worked in the UK, pursuing her goals as a folk musician, actor, and theatre director.
She returned to New Zealand in 2000, settling in the Bay of Islands about a year ago, and she is now expecting her first child.
Some of the songs were written ten years ago, others are more recent.
Jacquie pours out her heart: the emotive ‘Harvest of Tears’, about the loss of a son, is based on a story gathered during her time editing a logging magazine, while ‘Icarus’ is a tribute to the late David Lange.
‘Step Into the Light’, forlorn at times, gentle on the ear, is available at The Sound Lounge in Kerikeri.

Liz Barry, ‘Good Morning’ Television 1 August 28th, 2006. Review of ‘Step Into the Light’.

“I’m just so impressed with this album”

“wistful”

“Full of love, longing, and romance.”

‘Harvest of Tears’ is “very poignant”

“A lovely tribute to David Lange”

“This really is a beautiful album”

“She’s a very fine songstress indeed”

“The forest and the bush run all the way through this album”

“These are the loggers stories”

“She’s just crafted these songs so beautifully”

Waikato Times – Steve Scott

Kerikeri’s Jacquie Walters releases her second album, ‘Step Into The Light’, and it’s more in the fine folk vein, the focus on meaningful reflections. And with hints of cello and violin creating slight avenues between Walters’ inventive picking and rich vocals, the songs are warm performances. Driving Home, Harvest of Tears, and Icarus – a tribute to David Lange, speak volumes of Walters’ sincerity, And while a country flavour is revealed on My Little Girl, the atmosphere changes once again as subtle harmony and the glorious cello embrace the beauty of Shine On. ‘Step Into the Light’ is an engaging listen with a fine wine on a cosy evening.

Martyn Pepperell, NZ Musician Magazine August/September 2006 issue. Review of ‘Step Into the Light’

Jacquie Walters is one of those multi-talented individuals who writes for magazines, works as an editor, moonlights as a singer/songwriter and has managed to travel the world and contribute to global creative culture in little ways here and there. Her 13 song CD is for lovers of the acoustic sound. A clear, crisp and passionate recording of predominantly vocal/guitar combination work from Jacquie. There is some delicate and sensitive backing instrumentation from cellist Janet Holborow, guitarist Mark Laurent and Chris Priestley as backing vocalist. Lyrical subject matter is broad such as stories gathered working as the editor of a logging magazine (‘Harvest of Tears’) and a tribute to the late great David Lange (‘Icarus’). In the liner notes Jacquie makes mention of an annual gig at the Mussel Inn in Takaka which keeps her spirit fed. If familiar with the Mussel Inn, its clientele and performers, you should have a reasonably good idea of what to expect from this release.
- TV and Print Media