Album: Twist The Truth Print
  


THE ALBUMS OF LENE

 


Twist The Truth

(March 30, 2009)
 
 

Album Review
 

 

Introduction

The road to "Twist The Truth" has been quite long, in contrast to what was the case with the previous album, "Lost In A Moment" (2005), which suddenly appeared from nowhere. This time, Lene has gradually invited her fans to join her in her journey towards Album No. 4, released in Norway on March 30, 2009, both through retail and digital media download. A great finale on the celebration of her 10 year anniversary as a recording artist and songwriter.

 
The production work of Norwegian artists and songwriters Even "Magnet" Johansen and Børge Fjordheim at Askøy, Grand Sports and Malabar Studios are showing throughout the album, and the overall feeling of acoustically recorded versions of all songs are very clear from the opening song, "Everything's Good". In August 2007, Lene introduced what would become the very first song revealed from "Twist The Truth", entitled "You Could Have", performed at the Døgnvill Festival concert before a greater audience. Later, she gradually introduced songs like "Come Home", "Learned From Mistakes" and "Do You Remember" throughout the summer of 2008, before in the very late stages releasing completed digital versions of "You Will Cry No More" and the first single, "Here We Are", in February and March, 2009.
 
"Twist The Truth" is indeed different from her previous three albums in regards to appearance and basic sound, focusing strongly on the "unplugged" feel in the song performances, close to what a "live in studio" concert would have been. This was very well confirmed by Lene's six-song release concert performance released through VG Net TV broadcasting system, also on March 30, where the song versions were very close to the final studio versions in appearance and sound, even though performed entirely live at the Malabar studios in Oslo. The songs on the album are as well thought out as we would expect from an artist possessing the talent of almost divine songwriting, proved through three previous highly successful albums, and with lyrics that in their form and content have returned more to what we could read on "Playing My Game" rather than "Lost In A Moment", or even "Another Day". To the public daily press reviewers who are claiming that the songs are "stagnant", "boring", "sad" (in the more negative sense), or complaining about how insignificant the lyrics are, there is only one thing to say: You Are Utterly Wrong.
 

The bottom line for "Twist The Truth", as a closing remark of this introduction, is that the album is a brilliant manifestation of Lene Marlin's ability as a songwriter, singer, musician, and performer. The album contains 10 tracks, and has an approximate running time of 38 minutes. No international or Japanese/Asian version has surfaced, and consequently no bonus song has been released.

 

Everything's Good

Calm and atmospheric as a warm summer breeze, the classical guitar and the violin introduce the listener to Lene's 2009 album. The feel of the melody and the violin together make the ballad sound as the opening or closing music of a greater motion picture. You could almost envision the credit titles rolling over the big screen. If they indeed were rolling, they would say, in addition to Lene Marlin on vocals and guitar, Renate Engevold on violins, and Tommy Kristiansen on guitar. "Everything's Good" was described by Lene as "some coziness" to start up the new record with, and cozy the song really is. A warm, beautiful ballad, with Lene's voice and the violin competing for the attention of the listener. Lene Marlin on her most comforting, with lyrics like "I was thinking I deserve less/Always I deserve less/Well I just don't do that anymore". A song seemingly about somebody finding new and greater confidence in him- or herself by caring for somebody else. A melody you would want to return to for a long time.

 


Come Home

The essence of Lene's songwriting put into one single song, dressed in Magnet's 2009 acoustic musical outfit. This song could easily have been put on "Playing My Game", alongside songs like "The Way We Are" or "One Year Ago", and it would have been a perfect match, stylisticly. "Come Home" was first introduced for the public in Lene's 2008 Sokndal concert performance, for those lucky enough to be present at the event. Another version was played at the Karlstad event, complete with strings from the Värmland's Opera, underscoring the song's great melody even more. The song is pure Lene, as mentioned, and one of the strongest songs on the album. The singing of Lene in the first verse, after the introduction; "I just want to lock the door/Leave it all outside", is reminiscent of the desperate cry of a person having been brought to the edge, pleading for help that the person in Lene's mind isn't even sure is desired: "Don't bother look for me/Not even sure that you would/So I don't have to tell/I'm not feeling well these days". The pure, honest appearance of the song on the studio album is great, although having listened to the live version from Karlstad 2008, a cello striking a chord in the background underscoring the song's wonderful melody could possibly have made it more immediately available to newcomers. It doesn't matter at all, because this is a great song, truly classic Lene Marlin - and should be ranked high in her catalogue.

 


Here We Are

If there is one thing that will stand when all is said and done after this album from Lene, then it's this song. Another score by Lene, another radio hit following all the others. This song rose the enthusiasm many levels when it was presented online mid February, 2009. The structure and build-up of the song is classic pop craftmanship, with a great set of lyrics to support it all. Especially the 1st verse is beautifully done and sung: "Keeping my distance/I look but I don't really see/It's like things lose their colour/And people are walking right through me". Also noticable are the strings, which are well heared throughout the song, but comes together in the smaller instrumental section in the latter part of the song. A truly wonderful part underscoring the celebrating feel Lene has given to the song - celebrating her new release, perhaps, as well as celebrating her own fans through the accompanying official video, available on YouTube. For all of us who have followed Lene for a while, this song and its video is the ultimate tribute.

 


Story Of A Life

Gentle guitars opening the song, clearly very different to the previous ones before it on the album. Here, the pre-release mentioning of a country-inspired Lene might be heared for the first time. The "bouncing" rhythm and the easy-listening feel of the song express this new type of Lene songwriting, with the piano hovering below the surface at the end. The lyrics are well worth the closer study as well, especially the 2nd verse: "The little boy with just socks on too small to walk/I wonder what he'd say to me if he could talk/Would he ask me to be kind to take him away/Cos his parents are yelling and fighting all day". I don't think Lene has written lyrics in this way before; there are serious matters at heart, but still it's written in a very lighthearted fashion. This is clearly an observer's lyrics; one could almost picture Lene sitting on that park in New York that she has been telling about. Or perhaps more often on a bench on an European or US airport, looking at other travellers randomly passing her by. A great song, representing in many ways something Lene has not done before, and the typical "pearl" of the album, with its brief duration (just short of three minutes). Put this one on repeat, it's almost impossible to get tired of it.

 


You Could Have

The road to a studio recording has been long for this track. First performed in public at the 2007 Døgnvill Festival, in Tromsø, although the live versions since then had promised a more heavy, longer piece than what has been presented on "Twist The Truth". The live versions have usually been over five minutes long, with a fantastic instrumental part closing the song in a majestic way. The suspicion of a much lighter studio version was therefore awoken when the song could be seen to last only 3:45 minutes. There is, luckily, still a kind of instrumental part in the song, but it's been put in the middle rather than at the end. The purely acoustic feel of the studio version is also contributing to making the song much more light than the more majestic live version. Still, the version presented here is wonderful as it is, with a great touch of the guitars in the closing part, as Lene is repeating the chorus lines. There is still a lot of drive left in the song, and it is one of the best tracks on the album. Having said that, there is no hiding that a longer version, more closely resembling the well practiced live version, would be preferable. In any case, a fantastic Lene song, and a true highlight of the album.

 


I'll Follow

Lene's voice, some classical guitar, and a horde of wind instruments, trumpets for the most part, and suddenly you have Lene doing an almost jazzy song. The song is certainly one of the more unusual tracks Lene has done in any of her albums so far. You had "From This Day" on "Another Day", which was kind of different than the other tracks, but "I'll Follow" breaks the standard Lene mode of songwriting even more so. At least in original appearance, due to the extraordinary arrangement. At heart, though, this is still a beautiful Lene ballad. Strip off the layers of trumpets, and you have a wonderful, classic, Lene song in the same vein as "When You Were Around" from the previous album. This song has an incredible way of creeping up on you after a few listenings. The chorus, especially, gets stuck in your head after a while, and you'll find yourself singing and humming on it while taking a shower, or cooking food in the kitchen, or any other place where your mind gets a little idle. "I never knew 'bout tomorrow/I've deared see/I'll follow/Wherever it takes me /I know I'll follow my heart". Refreshingly different in musical attire, this song is another wonderful Lene ballad worth playing for the years to come.

 


Learned From Mistakes

So Lene took the "majestic" out of "You Could Have", at some degree, but she has certainly compensated the loss with this song. An almost six minutes epic, with only "Fight Against The Hours" from "Another Day" to compete with it for longest Lene song of all times. This song, also first presented at the 2008 Karlstad concert performance, is a wonderful, edifying, majestic piece of almost symphonic pop music, complete with the strongest strings arrangement ever heard in a Lene song. What is also remarkable in many ways, are the lyrics: "If this is it and I who thought that when/I saw you next I should say I need you/Simply cos I do/And you should know". The first line quoted here contains something of a word order that I have never seen before in English, but it works so beautifully well within the context of the song's melody. And she repeats the same line in the 2nd verse, but then closing off with "I saw you next I should say I love you/Simply cos I love you/And you should know". It's original songwriting, although a little unfamiliar wording for a song lyrics, but I find it truly wonderful. "The next time I see you I need to tell you I love you", but in a much more original style. A delicous piece, indeed, and also something new and refreshing coming from little black book of Lene, although it can't exactly be accused of being "commercial". A great deal of listening is essential here - let's hope that is what people do when buying this album.

 


Have I Ever Told You

When Lene first is in her offbeat corner, she puts in this song as well. Pronounced drums and bass giving the song a clear rhythm and style, and by the chorus is over, more wind instruments have joined in together with Lene's excellent voice. Lene is truly singing very well on this track, in some ways this song is this album's answer to "Playing My Game"'s "Where I'm Headed", but that is mostly in appearance and not in real content, as the two songs are pretty diffrerent otherwise. Also noticeable is the background choir following Lene throughout the different parts of the chorus, and on the ordinary verses there is clearly some voice support or ringing following Lene's singing. It works well on this song, although making the song appear more "glossy" than would have been the case without it. This song is something different from the hand of Lene, and although I can't say it's my favourite on the album, it still gives that extra spice to the overall presentation. And it is probably possible to dance to, something that can rarely be said about Lene's songs.

 


Do You Remember

One of the strongest moments when it comes to the lyrics is presented on this song, a truly beautiful rendering of what it could be like before the heavy duties of adulthood put their merciless claws into you. Stripped down to just the guitar and the voice of Lene, together with the support vocals by Renate Engevold. No wind instruments this time around, as was the case on "I'll Follow", the other quiet ballad that it's more natural comparing with. The melody on "Do You Remember" is delicious, and the thoughts go back to the early classics "I Know" and "My Love". At least Lene is fighting to reach the heights of these previous ballads, and that is commendable in itself, although Lene has made it hard for herself having to compete with her greater self. The "10 year old boyfriend" (quotation Lene) is always rearing its ugly head, and this is something both Lene and her fans need to get comfortable with, because it's unlikely that it will ever go away. The Karlstad version of this song gave great promise that it would appear on the new album, and we should be grateful that Lene chose to include it. A wonderful Lene ballad, with an equally wonderful lyrics. Have yourself a quiet moment with Lene.

 


You Will Cry No More

The quiet moment continues with the closing song of the album, which was released even before the hit single "Here We Are", on February 5, 2009. This song quickly divided the Lene fans into two sepearate camps: Those who loved it for what it was, and those who couldn't understand it, and wished it was something else entirely. The basic term here is that Lene had the wish to be singing with a men's choir, and consequently hired one to join her in the studio, recording this beautiful song. The singing of the choir is at some points kind of offbeat, but obviously it gives the song the special character it certainly has. Lene also got to widen her experience with the song by performing it live with a scaled down men's choir on the national TV2 "Senkveld" broadcast. A very short, original, and stylish finish of the whole album. Having been touching a lot of styles, and having used many different and unconventional instrumentation on many of the songs, this song is a fitting rounding off to an album that is remarkable in so many ways.

 


Closing words

A closing congratulations to Lene for her fourth album completed. We - as the fans - should be very happy to be counting four Lene albums in 2009 - it certainly isn't something we should be taking for granted. Let's embrace it for its clear character, original sound, and willing diversity, because "Twist The Truth" is a worthy Lene Marlin album.