Album reviews: Vicky Taytro, by Vicki Tetreault

Written by Susan Frances

Vicki Tetreault
www.vickytaytro.com

Vicki Tetreault's first full length album is a welcome boon for the fledging market of pop/rock music as female singers like Vanessa Carlton and Anna Nalick are no where to be seen. Tetreault has a way of making her vocal melodies instill a lasting impact on audience's memories similarly to Carlton and Nalick and to 80s icons like Bonnie Tyler, Terri Nunn of Berlin, and Nena Kerner.

The Canadian singer-songwriter, Vicki Tetreault made her debut as a live performer at a local street faire when she took the initiative to go up on stage and begin singing Whitney Houston's hit song, "The Greatest Love Of All." Her singing resonated with the crowd and made such an indelible impression that she parlayed that one gig into becoming a professional solo artist. She became a popular local singer in the city of Quebec where she resided and was voted by the people of Quebec to sing "What Made You Say That" with Shania Twain at the country star's show there in 2000.

Tetreault's self-titled album which goes by the American version of her name, Vicky Taytro, breaks the singer-songwriter out of the shadows of Houston and Twain and into her own right which is a really great place for her to be. Tetreault produced the album with a team of co-producers including Gio Zappala, Vincenzo Thoma, Bernie Cossentino, and Eric Applebaum along with music arranger Dan Marfisi. Tetreault's vocals have a siren's purr on tracks like the hypnotic "7 Spirits" and the country-pop spatial of "Loving You." She transforms into the power kicks of a feisty saber on the heartbreaking "Please Don't Say" while her vocals slip effortlessly as they rip and soar through "5ive Minutes." The vocal melodies which come out of Tetreault are vivid and attach the lyrics to life-sized breathing emotions which stir the listener's senses.

The curls and streaks in Tetreault's vocals are sleek and have the strength to rise above the voluminous undercurrents burrowing in the melodies. Her vocals show brute strength like her lyrics which often tackle the forces that hold her down. Her singing is a great force of motivation that awakens new life in pop/rock's stratums. Her songs show pockets of country-pop and acoustic-rock which expands the album's sonorous prisms as the melodies continually match Tetreault's vocal dimensions.

Tetreault's self-titled album is a perfect fit for her talents. It is an album that not only resonates with the people of Quebec but also with people from around the world.