Solo: Women Singer-Songwriters in Their Own Words

com) from Atlanta, Georgia November 14, 1998 Dear Emma and Marc, Solo is awesome, the images and narrative are both soulful and powerful. As a practicing artist I'm attracted to the imagery in your book. The photographs have a cinematic quality to them, in particular the series of photo's of Holly Palmer. When I look at the images in your book I feel spirit and emotion of the people represented through your imagery. Examples of what I'm referring to are images of Lucinda Williams (pg 290 and 300), Sheryl Crow (pg 273), Roseanne Cash (pg 246), Jewel (pg 224), Shawn Colvin (pg 39), and Sarah (pg 18)... I like the way the narrative and art work weave together like a quilt, your images make me feel good. More on Solo later... Peace, Love, and Understanding, Freddy Ciminelli

The night I bought this book I sat down and finished the whole thing. I bought this book because I was a huge fan of Sarah McLachlan and Shawn Colvin, Jewel and Cheryl Crow, but I learned so much more from the other singers too. Sarah's interview struck me as the most down to earth, but every interview was intriguing and I just couldn't put it down. Some of the artists I had never even listened to like Ani Difranco but then next day I borrowed a friends CD and I have to say thanks to this book my CD collection has gotten a lot larger! Thank you Emma and Mark! The only bad thing about this book is......it ended! (and Tori Amos wasn't in the book, but was mentioned by Sarah McLachlan! =)So that was fine by me!!!)

SOLO: Women Singer-Songwriters In Their Own Words is just that: a compilation of 'collected wisdom' from some of today's female singer-songwriters. Each piece is accompanied by striking black and white photographs by Emma Dodge Hanson, and the essays themselves are written ina laid-back conversational style that makes it easy to curl up on the couch on a cold winter's day and read the book.Editor Marc Woodworth has done a fine job of presenting these outstanding women as intelligent and wise -- or perhaps it could be said that they didn't need any help from Woodworth to come across that way? Woodworth has given each songwriter a clean slate to talk about themselves and their work, and ech artist shines. The end product is a compendium of "selected wisdom", if you will, that flows fluidly from the pages. To the reader, it feels as though one were listening to each artist chat about life, over a coffee at the local cafe. Gone are the cliched phrases and anecodtes that all too often mar books about artists in the music industry.The remarkable thing that Woodworth has managed to accomplish is to present these women as human beings, not just as songwriters. While they talk about their craft a great deal, each comes across as being very experienced (or embattled!) in matters of the heart. Very often a given artist chats about her upbringing, how they got into music, and their various influences, topics that I found very interesting. Each artist is very honest about mistakes they have made, not only on a practical level but on a emotional one as well, information that I suspect would be difficult to glean from male singers!Because the book reads like a "book of conversations", and not a "book of discussions about each artist's individual style", I found even the writings of artists I don't like to be very interesting. For example, I'm not a huge fan of Mary Chapin Carpenter, but she had some very intelligent things to say. Someone else who I don't recognize writes that "I realized it's okay to feel multiple ways about a certain thing," a concept that struck me as being very true and very human. The book is full of these little observations about life and human behaviour.Overall, I was very impressed with the content of the book and the way in which it was assembled. The layout is very aesthetically pleasing and the photos are beautifully done. Thanks to Marc and Emma on a job well done.

Picture a slumber party with 19 of your closest girlfriends. You pig out on junk food, you do each other's hair, and each girl shares a little bit about herself.Some of the girls at the party are old friends, some of the girls are new in town. Every girl leaves different from when she arrived, whether it's highlights in her hair (or a bra in the freezer if she fell asleep first!) or a new-found respect for a friend after sympathizing with her past or sharing her dreams for the future.Stock up on chocolate cookies, get into your jammies, and curl up in your favorite chair with "Solo."Marc Woodworth's editing is seamless. Emma Dodge Hanson's photography is stunning."Solo" is a book of phenominal women FOR phenominal women. Ok, ok, guys are invited too, but you have to sneak in the window after my parents go to sleep.

Accolades to Mr. Woodworth and Ms. Hanson and Solo. Mr. Woodworth has managed to capture and transform the words of these woman singers/songwriters (Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, Joan Osborne, Lucinda Williams, Jewel, Suzanne Vega just to name a few) into a dynamic first person narrative that brings you face to face with your favorite artist. The accompanying pictures by Ms. Hanson are stunning. I have yet to see such revealing, sensitive and poignant pictures of these artists published anywhere else. This book is pure energy and art that rivals the vitality of the women it portrays. When I read a good book or am inspired by a song I hear, I react to it physically and emotionally. In this moment of reaction it becomes art. I want to talk to that author/songwriter about their work. I want to discover the impetus behind their thoughts and ideas. Solo takes me to that place. It takes me to a place were stories are layered in astonishing depth. It is no less than an opportunity to sit with your favorite singer/songwriter and hear their ideas, insights, dreams, and fears. You are welcomed into their living spaces to find out what they think about their careers and music. Sometimes when I am reading a chapter about one of my favorite singers/songwriters, I put their music on and listen. Deeper meanings emerge, and I hear them speaking to me. This is an enlightening and excellent read.