//M2M Ultimate 2003-2005// 


Marion Raven's first solo album is a huge, positive surprise


It's easy to believe that a lot was tested and failed in both 
recording- as well as photo-studio because Marion Raven landed 
on a bohemian-look and the powerful rocky expression which gets 
slippery in "Here I Am". One has feared the worst, but instead 
got an album which is a huge positive surprise, more or less 
from start to finish.

We are on a well-tested musical base here - simplyfied: 
Alanis Morissette via Avril Lavigne - but it is at the same time 
a 'bigger-better-more' opportunity of well-constructed, driving 
energetic, screaming and  from time to time dark-commerce pop 
which takes a while before we experience it each time.

We have a mix of singles, speed and humidity, seperated by the 
obligatory ballads which is mostly good.

In the big picture it's a lot to be happy about. Which means 
it's not the end of the world that the album have two-three 
songs too many(the japanese version contains 15 tracks) - it 
would have solved the variation-problem simply put.

Marion does three different keys all of which she handles well: 
the sharp, agressive rock (opening track 'Get Me Out Of Here', 
the single 'Break You', the amazing 'End Of Me' and the little 
softer pop-variation (the title track, the Tori Amos-ish '13 Days', 
the great 'Gotta Be Kidding') and finally the great ballads 
('Crawl', 'For You I Die'). After listening to the whole album 
many times, it's the songs in the mid-category that are the most 
noticeable.

It also means that this perhaps is Marion Raven's own expression, 
post-M2M. In that case it's great that it shines so pretty like 
hers. That in itself is a nice surprise.


Here I Am will officially be released in Norway on August 8th


*Translated by Marcus*