Hi Larry. I've had your CD on several times over the last couple weeks, and have gathered up some thoughts:

- I think the standout track, and the one I am most likely to start singing, is "Who Will Marry Me?" Though opportunities where I want to sing it will probably be infrequent, it's very moving, especially the line "who would ever marry me?" and I could feel that the character was communicating with me.

- I also like the story about the Quaker boy. I'm a sucker for anything to "Star of the County Down", but also I found it a good and original angle on the escape story, being told from the boy's point of view. So often the challenge to writing historical songs is to find that good angle instead of just writing a history text in rhyme - and you found it.

- My other favourite is Yvette's song. It's becoming more and more clear to me that repeating verbal motifs (i.e,. oh how ----------- ran) is an important secret to good songwriting. Also, I liked the melody - is it yours? If it's a folk melody, I might like to use it for something myself.

- I do have some reservations about the CD as a whole, specifically how consistently miserable the themes are and how openly activist your treatment of them is. If your goal in making the CD was to introduce some recent originals to other potential singers, then fair enough. But if you want it to get you gigs (does it reflect your live show, or do you also do fun songs?), or if it's intended to be a "general release" to be listened to for its own sake, then I think the heaviness is a drawback. There's only so much misery that anyone wants to listen to in a sitting, and I don't think many people like songs that are overtly political - they'd rather just hear the story and draw the conclusions themselves.

I get the feeling that you have a real sense of calling in your songwriting, to address the pain of the world and move the listener to respond in a given way. And if that's what you gotta do, then I guess that's what you gotta do. But it does, I believe, take away the opportunity you might have to have your songs loved by many people. If that's a sacrifice you're willing to make, then that's a sacrifice you're willing to make - I just want to be sure that you're making it with your eyes wide open.

Best wishes, Marion