Sandy Randall

Sandy Randall is a Texas singer who appeared on Country Review earlier this year. At the time, we reviewed her two-track demo CD and a four-song cassette. The package was Randall’s return to music after many years away raising her children. Now, the mother of three is back with her cut and polished 12-track debut disc, No More Cryin’, No More Blues (RMCMA Records).

The CD is colored with Randall’s childhood influences, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and Tammy Wynette, and is a mix of mood, twang, and practiced performance.

Randall, a Karaoke and "open microphone" disciple, has been busy slapping the flesh with homegrown musicians and writers. A solid season of showcases, awards, and local nominations has given her purpose and a signpost to her dreams. Those dreams, according to her biography, include the wish to record original music.

Billy O’Hara helps out on that score with four penned tracks. His "I’ll be the Blues" is a memorable effort from Randall. The song, dealing with gender compatibility (as in one being rhythm, the other being blues), rocks with radio possibility.

Tone and personality drive the title track. Smoky vocals and silk harmonies make a song made for slow, late night dancing and somber reflection.

Bobby Barragan joins Randall on the Davy Warwick-penned, "Anytime, Anywhere, Anyplace". The love song is a ragged exchange clawing at feelings that are gone, but not forgotten. The duo blends an offering that is pure vocal gristle — tough, but tender.

Part of Randall’s attraction is in her determination. Some of the songs on this CD are vocally demanding. Some notes drag the singing range to the edge; however, with an obvious sense of rhythm and timing this Ft. Worth, Texas songbird wins the challenge.

Randall is now chasing the possibilities that growing children and family commitments had once prevented. She is moving into the country music slipstream with the force of a lady who knows her way. That journey has begun with No More Cryin’, No More Blues.


Album/Demo Review


Born in Nashville, the home of country music, Sandy Randall grew up listening to all of the country greats. Inspired by female voices, such as Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, and Loretta Lynn, Sandy realized her own passion for music, then later joined the school choir and band — just to be close to that dream.

After having put her music career on hold to raise a family, this mother of three now-grown children found that a flicker of what had once burned deep inside still remained. Now she's back to fan the flames, to find out what might have been.

With her passion taking the forefront on the two songs of her demo, the midtempo pace of "Some Monday" and the softer crooning of "Another Heart", Sandy's love for singing is undeniable. Causing the listener to believe she's experienced every word she sings, she's as honest as she is sincere.

As a bonus with her demo to be reviewed, we also received a cassette tape with four more well-recorded songs. "To Hear A Cowboy Sing", the opening number co-written by Davy and Jim Warwick, showcases Randall contributing a livelier energy to her performance, before taking a humorous plunge into "Gotta Get Back Online", a light-hearted tune for computer users suffering from "net addiction".

While "In The Days Of The Old West", one of two songs penned solely by Billy O'Hara, is a genuine tribute to the true country swingin' sounds of old, the smooth stylings of "Passion and Pain" two-steps its way through to the end.

With a voice combining the sound of all of her favorites, we have no doubt that Sandy Randall will soon accomplish at least two of her many goals — which is to be heard and to be even closer to her childhood dream. Tammy R. Phillips, CountryReview.com



- George Peden