Not many singer-songwriters making their major-label debut would dare issue an album featuring mostly songs by other composers - one written almost a century ago. Few would think it a wise way to make one's mark on the contemporary world stage. But Serena Ryder has done just that with the extraordinary IF YOUR MEMORY SERVES YOU WELL, a collection of Canadiana a old as Shelton Brooks' 1910 classic "Some of These Days" and as recent as Leonard Cohen's 1967 gem "Sisters of Mercy".
The 23-year-old Ryder, a native of tiny Millbrook, Ont., delivers these vintage songs with a raw, three-octave voice that's been compared to Janis Joplin's. She gives a spooky performance of Bonnie Dobson's apocalyptic folk ballad "Morning Dew" and a giddy rendition of Carmen Lombardo's vaudeville nugget "Boo Hoo". Two of the strongest cuts are among the album's most unexpected covers: a wildly passionate version of Percy Faith's "My Heart Cries For You" and an infectious update of Galt MacDermot's "Good Morning Starshine", from the hippie musical Hair.Ryder also serves up several astonishingly good originals. Her "Just Another Day" is a forceful declaration of self-determination, while her confessional "Weak in the Knees" is deeply heart-wrenching.
Mature well beyond her years, Ryder has an abundance of talent that seems certain to make her a major star. By showcasing her own compositions among songs by Raymond Lévesque, Paul Anka and others, she proves herself both a powerful vocalist and a formidable composer in her own right.
NICHOLAS JENNINGS
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