Elyra Campbell - Girl in a Tree
www.elyracampbell.com

There is a space - a window of opportunity where even the biggest of skeptics can be reached on the wonders of this big machine we live in. That's why we should never underestimate music that leads us to a sense of enchantment - a sense of wonder. Listening to Elyra Campbell on 'Girl in a Tree' is an experience that's rare in world music while expanding boundaries it also inspires in a joie de vivre blissful way. Sure there are great albums in the genre that touch on this but I put my money on the stuff that truly makes me feel more connected and this one does that. It's easy to understand why Campbell has been compared to likes of Enya and Loreena McKennitt all three sell a product that's Celtic based and very catchy with an angelic harmonizing feel. Moving from traditional Hebridean and Celtic to original pieces Campbell seems very much in 'the zone' when she sings. Interestingly she says it didn't feel that miraculous going down "if something magical was happening there it was pure grace because I am not that comfortable in the studio." Sometimes we create magic inspite of ourselves but in this case I think Campbell surrendered to something bigger. "The Willows of Jericho" a tender quite ode to Vancouver's Jericho beach and the melancholy "Circle of Dreams" were written one day after Campbell was diagnosed with cancer. "I remembered thinking at the time: " I have so many songs left to write, I had better get busy!" This might explain why Girl in a Tree is an album that doesn't only connect to something higher in all of us it also has a sense of peace and understanding. We all react differently to our crossroads Campbell chose to breathe in everything that was positive in her life and that feeling blankets this whole project. Another stand-out is "Somebody's Dream" which Campbell says literally came from her sleep "It began in a dream which woke me up at 5 AM. I crawled to the keyboard at the foot of my bed, still half asleep and managed to get it down before passing out again!" Probably the best treat on the album is the east Indian flavoured Mo Spiorad(My Spirit) four minutes of mystical sublimity that's bound to make you stop in your track to soak it in. This album is a celebration of life from a survivor who's very glad to be here. - by John Beaudin   (Review from 2002)

(Elyra Campbell passed away Monday, September 20th, 2004)