Christa Couture
Album: The Living Record
Label: One Foot Tapping
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.christacouture.com

"The Living Record" is Canadian singer, actress and cancer survivor, Christa Couture's follow up to 2008's award winning album, "The Wedding Singer And The Undertaker". That last bit, cancer survivor is mentioned in as much as it's an important influence on the album.

Couture has lived, or at least had thrust upon her, a rollercoaster of a life with artistic and creative highs being balanced out by some really tough knocks including adolescent cancer and the death of her infant song. Consequently "The Living Record" is an album that will put you through the emotional wringer, but fear not you will emerge on the other side and probably with a great sense of just how strong you can be inside.

In many ways the final track on the album, also the track closest to the album title, "The Way Of The Dodo (The Living Record)" is the album in condensed form. It's certainly the key that tumbles the lock to a couple of other songs, particularly if, like me, your EQ is a little low. I'm tempted to recommend that you start with that track, but you might feel it's like going to the last chapter first, ultimately your choice.

This is an album with plenty of light and dark, as well as a whole host of greys in between. Yes a lot of the album represents the ups and downs of life, but at no point did this feel like the album of a diary singer, Couture is very good on the metaphor. This is not an album that makes you feel like you're intruding.

Similarly there is plenty of layers and variety in the sound, gothic country, Americana including sweet bluegrass touches and, surprisingly, well maybe not given Christa's background in musical theatre, a touch of cabaret.

"The Living Record" is a very visual album, again no surprise given her film and television work, Couture paints songs as much as writes them and the result is an album that is easy to relate to despite the paths it sometimes takes you down, ultimately that's the sign of a good album and this, most certainly, is.

Neil King