by Joe Peters, Christmas Eve, 2014

In the beginning there were chords artfully coaxed from the black and white keys of the piano, and it was good. Words, carefully chosen lyrics, sprouted from these melodies; thus, the songs of Burning Heart were given birth, and it was good. Over the sound of music a voice was heard, a voice like no other, strong and resolute, full of conviction and emotional integrity, and it was great. On the tenth song she rested, but not for long, as there is no rest for the wildly industrious Lee Anna Atwell.

Lee Anna Atwell, singer-songwriter-musician, seems to have mastered the art of being in more than one place at the same time. Whether performing music from Heartsong Christmas with Scott Greeson and Vickie Maris Greeson, lending vocals and keyboards to Trouble with Monday, Groove Catz, Keith Austin, or Malachi Jaggers, contributing her talents to a myriad of other artists in the studio or on the stage, leading a church worship band or accompanying the high school choir, this woman gets around. And she does so with an efficiency that is astounding and a playfulness that is completely disarming. Heroic humility permeates all of Lee Anna’s work, and lifts Burning Heart into the rarified air of the greats.

Have you seen the Academy Award-winning documentary, 20 Feet from Stardom? This cinematic labor of love explores the lives, backgrounds and accomplishments of some of the most famous voices you’ve heard but never seen, the back-up singers on iconic pop and rock songs from the past 50 years. In her own musical universe, you might say that Lee Anna has long been 20 feet from stardom, as her powerful vocals and talented keyboard playing have graced stages and studios alike for many artists and many years. On Burning Heart, Lee Anna steps naturally into the spotlight that is rightly hers.

The album, mostly engineered and mixed by Malachi Jaggers at Hoosier Surf Records, opens with the cheerfully upbeat Sing Mama Sing, one of a number of subtlely autobiographical songs about Lee Anna’s musical family, especially her Mama, and her southern heritage. On Missing Home she sings “Southern woman living in a Northern town,” a line that fairly well sums up the lyrical and emotional theme of the record. In fact, a road trip to her native Louisiana a couple of years ago proved fertile ground for many of the songs that comprise this recording. But Lee Anna is a consummate songwriter, finding inspiration in a variety of life’s circumstances, from the trials and tribulations of her own nuclear family (Broken Down) to the teenage drama among her wider family of hundreds of high school kids in her choir classes (Burning Heart). Both of these songs exhibit one of the compelling characteristic traits of Lee Anna’s songwriting: word economy. Lee Anna wastes no time in establishing an emotional connection with the listener (“I’ve been broken down, broken down, broken down, broken down…with the worries and concerns of this day”), in very few words, strategically echoed by background voices. And when she winds up in the middle of Burning Heart and delivers a chilling plea and command (“You said you’d never leave, now I want you to go”), you’d better believe she has our every attention.

The first four tracks, while exhibiting influences to this listener’s ear as diverse as The Pretenders, Joni Mitchell, and Etta James, nonetheless adhere to a musical formulation that lately might be termed Americana, or more widely as Singer-Songwriter. With the first few notes of Hold On, however, Lee Anna takes us into the catchy riff world of anthemic rock, and holds us there with adept delivery. On this track we can clearly hear the electric guitar-driven musical hooks of her main collaborating musician, Malachi Jaggers. These two complement each other very well, filling the gaps left open by the sparse instrumentation of the other, creating space for the interplay of piano and guitar. This track also showcases Lee Anna’s incredible ability to arrange vocals, weaving a tapestry of the lead melody and layers of supporting harmonies.

The heaviness of the opening guitar and drum riffs of Ain’t Got Nothin’ may turn off some listeners expecting a consistency in musical approach to this collection of songs, but they would be missing an important aspect of achievement on this album: Lee Anna can do it all. She has the hutzpah to belt out an 80s heavy rock-influenced song, while going tender on the next. In less than 40 words she drives home her message (“You better run, you better hide from me”), and entertains in the process with a gorgeous vocal bridge—reprised near the end–that lightens the mood of this dark tune right where it is most appreciated.

This album is infused throughout with the triple strengths of inspired, emotionally rich songwriting, energetic and engaging piano playing, and Lee Anna’s unforgettable, multi-faceted voice. This holy trinity of elements is so strong and pervasive on each of the ten songs on this CD that any other contributions in the arrangements should serve a supporting role, highlighting these aspects, and for the most part they do just that. The Next Shooting Star perfectly exhibits this sensitivity to arrangement, with only Malachi’s delicate bass lines adding depth to Lee Anna’s piano and layered vocal harmonies, resulting in an exquisite ballad.

Lee Anna’s voice rightly dominates this album throughout, perhaps nowhere as evident as on the gorgeous contemporary waltz, Dreamer’s Lament. Originally intended as part of an independent film for which she was asked to write the soundtrack, this is the only song recorded with/by guitar legend Michael Kelsey. This track is a standout, and provides a musical and conceptual break that sets up nicely the last two songs on the album. Though we must wait until almost the end, Alleluia is destined to be one of those songs that stick with you long after repeated listening, a song that lifts and soothes and encourages the listener. Like Leonard Cohen’s immortal Hallelujah, there is a mystery in this song that intrigues the listener and sets the hook, compelling one to sing along even if we are not sure to rejoice in the light and grace of the lead character or rebel against her implied fate. This track also benefits from lead guitarist Kevin Ludwig’s understated artistry and the beautifully complimentary background vocals of husband and wife collaborators, Scott and Vickie Greeson, all three of whom raise the musical bar on several of the albums ten tracks.

Burning Heart closes with the heartbreaking realization, stated in the liner notes, that Lee Anna’s Mama and Muse suffers from Alzheimer’s (“I waited too long, She’s Already Gone”). Yet as she also states, music has always been their connection, and it is probably safe to say that this album, dedicated to her mother, would not exist in its present form if things had turned out differently for them both (“They say you can’t go back, but that’s what I did”). It is also safe to say that this wonderful disc is a true labor of love, mother and daughter and the musical bond between the two, and a manifestation of this musical legacy within her own nuclear family, with husband Mike Atwell contributing photography and design along with Lee Anna. From start to finish, cover to cover, this wonderful CD proves that Lee Anna Atwell is no longer 20 feet from stardom!