The first time I saw Lucie Blue Tremblay was at Boston Pride in the early '90s. My lover and I were about to leave the main stage and head home when I heard this rich, sexy voice with a rich, sexy accent pulling me back. I remember the emotion and the voice, and the sudden desire to stay. My only complaint was that eventually she stopped singing and I had to go home.

Little has changed since then. With her cd, I'm Ready, Lucie Blue has given us more reasons to stop and listen. She chooses her offerings carefully, and puts so much of herself in every song that I had to read the liner notes to tell which tunes she had written. The mix of French and English lyrics adds depth to her emotion and power to her truth.

All in all, this is one of the most diverse collections I've ever heard from one person at one time. Of two favorite tunes, one makes me cry and one makes me laugh. There's a mix of live and studio work, of philanthropy and self-indulgence, and of well-crafted emotional paintings and ear candy.

In the wake of the recent Phelps demonstration in Montpelier, "If You've Ever Loved" -- written by Kathleen Hannan -- is the perfect antidote. It speaks of the pain of losing of friends and family to homophobia and fundamentalism, and goes on to say "Christ said only one thing makes us whole. It's love that sets us free...deep down I've always known God blessed this love of mine." I found myself wishing that more songwriters had Hannan's gift of truth and gentle defiance, and that more singers had the courage to give life to such a message of spirituality, love, passion, and tolerance.

It's unfortunate that the first and title cut of the album is "I'm Ready." I think that this is the weak link in the compilation. As a drummer, I was disappointed that Lucie chose to use a drum machine in this live recording instead of taking Danielle Zanella (her most excellent drummer) to the concert. Perhaps she got carried away with the audience, but she sings too far back in her throat on this one, making it difficult to understand without reading the lyrics. It could have been good, but the arrangement is lame. It made me nervous about the remainder, but nothing on the rest of the album disappointed in the least.

"Un Etranger dans la Ville" paints a stark, compassionate picture of homelessness and battery in the city and points out that if it were our mother, our father, then surely we would find something to do. If we can see all people as our family, perhaps there will be deeper compassion for those who are different or less fortunate.

In contrast, "Les Ailes d'Angele" (sounds like Hells Angels) is a cool, driving, dark, and funny tale of a women's motorcycle group on a road trip one Saturday. The arrangement is brilliant. From the intro, I expected to hear a story of dark deeds, anger, and import. The lyrics made me giggle. A heavy bass line in a minor key gives a contradictory background to the picture of a bunch of women on motorcycles going to a sugaring party, washing the dishes, riding in the rain, driving through mud, and singing "like Ellen." Oh, yes, Lucie Blue has a sense of humor!

She also has versatility of vocal styles. "Pour Toujours" is a classic love song in any language, sung in a sweet, breathy voice. "New English Moosh Song" is just that, but I'm a sucker for good moosh and the arrangement is beautiful. "Treasure of the Soul," sung in clear, deep, sexy tones, is a lovely love song with nice percussion and an evocative cello line. It brings up bittersweet memories of old loves and reminds me that some relationships happen in order to open your mind, rather than to last for any length of time. "Crushes" makes me want to flirt with someone just to feel that tension between impulse and 'good behavior.'

In another example of her sense of humor, Lucie Blue treats us to two different arrangements of "Sweet Torment." At first, I thought my CD player was repeating itself until I read the notes. She says "okay, so I couldn't make up my mind... it had a groove, yet it also made me feel so fragile :)" Both are worth a listen.

Copyright © 1999 Mountain Pride Media, Inc.