The Palmer Girls - (2004)
This CD was released late in 2004, at a time when alot of radio people were thinking about their Top Ten picks for the year. If you were to ask me what the top ten Newfoundland CD's of 2004 were, I assure you, this one would be in my top five.
It sometimes seems that Newfoundland's musical heretage is lost on the MTV generation. While alot of todays kids let top ten popular radio or TV dictate their musical muse, The Palmer Girls have taken their own path, steeped in tradition, and built on the principals of hard work, dedication, and love of their craft.
(For those who don't know) The Palmer Girls are a quintet of sisters, aged 9 - 16, who not only sing on this album, but play most of instruments and wrote 6 of the songs. "Sisters" is a beautiful mix of 11 traditional and original tunes that these talented young ladies honed and perfected while busking in downtown St. Johns. In fact, much of the funding for this album was raised in that manner.
The album was intended to capture the essence of the Palmer Girls live sound, and does so brilliantly. I take my hat off to Producer Bill Brennan for doing a marvelous job on it, but ultimately, the clean, pure sound of this album comes down to the raw talent and angelic voices of The Palmer Girls,
Not only do they display almost boundless talent, these girls also show they have big hearts. A portion of the sales of "Sisters" will go to support the Childrens Wish Foundation and Child Find Newfoundland. The Palmer Girls "Sisters" is wonderful music and a great cause, but even more, it is the start of what I believe will be a very bright future for these talented young ladies.
Well done, Girls!
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