Independent Research- Sarah McLachlan

Sarah McLachlan’s presence in the music world has been felt for over twenty years now. Originally releasing her first album in 1988, it wasn’t until her second release Solace in ’91 that she started gaining notoriety. Since then, she has gone on to sell more than 40 million albums worldwide and won several Grammys along with numerous other awards. Not to be outdone she has also helped more female musicians get started than any other artist has.

            She is mainly known for playing the piano, but is by no means limited to those confines as she plays the harp and guitar as well. Sarah is capable of writing lyrics too, drawing influence from Peter Gabriel. Although she mainly writes about relationships this in no way affects her versatility as a whole. Her music draws on emotion, which is accentuated by her vocal talent. With her mezzo-soprano range she is capable of invoking a stronger emotional appeal within her poignant ballads.

            Becoming frustrated by the way promoters and radio stations treated female musicians Sarah founded Lilith Fair in ’97. The festival consisted solely of female artists or female-led bands. It initially lasted for three annual tours, but its decreasing reception caused Lilith to go on hiatus. It was once again revived in 2010, but again poor ticket sales were the cause of its inevitable cancellation. Despite its waning pop popularity Lilith Fair raised over $10M for women's charities. Not only that but it helped start or boost many female artist’s careers such as A Fine Frenzy and Erin McCarley.

Being male and admitting I like Sarah’s music generally makes me the source of ridicule when the topic is brought up. It affects me little since I know just how amazing of a musician she really is. I’m extremely partial to vocally talented female artists. Great ones are far and few between, but there are diamonds in the rough like A Fine Frenzy that are able to spark similar emotions that Sarah does. However, for some reason Sarah’s music touches me more than all the others. I think she sounds the best when she does live sets; her CD Mirrorball is one example.

            Moreover, being enthralled by her voice helped me escape reality when I was deployed for the first time. I listened to her albums on a daily basis for almost 15 months straight. It wasn’t the lyrics that grabbed me as much as her voice. To me she’s capable of making any subject sound beautiful. For example, Possession, which is probably her most popular song. The lyrics are about obsession with intent to rape, but many people miss that because of her extraordinary vocals. My heart melts at the sound of her voice and that’s a rarity to come across. So while people choose to tease me for liking her, ultimately the joke’s on them for not recognizing her talent.