Sing Out! Winter 2002 issue, pg 151 Michael Veitch Southern Girl Silverwolf 1026

This album is a dramatic departure from the slick fare of Veitch's earlier venture, NY Journal, and a huge stride in artistry. Somewhere along the line, this professional photographer has become a full blown songwriter, and this collection of solo live performances is riveting. Veitch covers a lot of ground - from politics to several sides of love, in a landscape that stretches from the Dakotas to Vegas. His characters are all pressed by a sad wisdom, yet they doggedly stay in the game. The songs are shot through with memorable lines and turns of phrase.

In "Wildest Fire," the singer plays briefly with nostalgia for an old flame, but he never deceives himself into thinking she would even remember his name. Unlike a photograph, a song takes place in time. But a good photographer knows how to compose an image so that your eye goes to one spot before being drawn inexorably to another; he captures not just the moment but the way we perceive the moment. Veitch's songs show the same ability to capture the movement of the eye as well as the heart.
-- HB