Paula Standing
The More I Give
(Paula Standing)

A lilting mandolin plays off the pretty melody Paula Standing swings her equally pretty vocal around on “Call It Home,” the first song on her new album, The More I Give. With Rod McCormack providing solid harmonies and I dare say, quite a bit of instruments (and production throughout) to this opening tune as the remaining nine.

A simple piano floats under one of Standing’s best vocals, on the title track, almost halfway in. It’s a mature big ballad of deep force; real good stuff, real good production, real sweet placement of simple backing instruments and vocal.

For me, this is the best song on The More I Give, and there are a lot of good songs here for sure.

The plucky (yes banjo plucking) upbeat “I’d Go Back Again,” follows. It’s a sweet story song. I like Jeff Taylor’s accordion touches especially.

We get another soft sweet ballad, this one informed by Andy Leftwich’s violin, on the character study “Just Like It’s Mine.” Once again, Standing shows off her prowess in creating just the perfect melody, setting the stage for her musicians to slyly work around her on another great song.

We’re back to upbeat mandolin movin’ on “Heaven On Earth,” its chorus just too infectious not to sing along to. And a slip and sliding acoustic carries Standing, trying to convince the listener on the last tune, as well as herself, that she’s “Doing Fine.”

Along with McCormack and Jeff Taylor and Leftwhich, Standing uses the talents of Jeff McCormack on bass, and Pat Crowley to her advantage and to their strengths, crafting a truly sweet gem of an album in The More I Give.