Okay, folks — the day is imminent. Motherlode, the album that I played such an infinitesimal role in bringing to life and wrote about incessantly, is coming to stores on Tuesday. I’m flying off to Austin tomorrow to have a little fun at the release festivities, including a big release party on Saturday night.
Man, this album is really clicking with people. Here are some samples from reviews:
“Musically, thematically, even spiritually, this two-disc meditation on motherhood and the joys and frustrations of women is the most wildly ambitious release of the veteran Texan’s career. After channeling her talents into a series of children’s albums in recent years, Sara Hickman returns to thoroughly adult concerns (as the cover illustration from the Kama Sutra attests). Though her style has long straddled folk and pop, the richness of these arrangements underscores the depth of her lyrics.” — amazon.com
“Hickman’s new double album, Motherlode, catches the prolific singer and writer of both adult and children’s songs in two distinctly grown-up moods: one quite desperate, the other more defiant.
Clearly, womanhood and motherhood, and the mud too often slung at both, weigh heavily and proximately on Hickman, who traditionally has smiled brightly from her album covers.
Motherlode documents Hickman’s reaction to a social minefield that should have been swept clean years ago. With well crafted and chosen words and music she describes, critiques, and in her way overcomes an unjust world in which women remain second-class citizens. And all along, she manages to eschew self-destruction negativism in favor of a healthy dose of “can do” positivism.
Whether or not Hickman purposefully includes her piquant and hit-worthy cover of The Rolling Stones’ Mother’s Little Helper to remind us that baby-boomer second wave feminism is now four-plus decades old is questionable. Whatever the case, it is a timely reminder that equality for women and mothers in both the private and public spheres should no longer be an issue, but a fact.
4-1/2 of 5 stars.” — thisistexasmusic.com“Sara Hickman should have been listed among the front line of the women’s Folk movement in the late ’80s, but label treachery kept her from her rightful place. After extricating herself from industry clutches by raising $40,000 from her fans to buy back the masters for her third album, Hickman had a good run of indie and self-released albums (particularly 1998’s Adrian Belew-produced/performed Two Kinds of Laughter). Five years ago, Hickman abandoned adult concerns for the world of children’s music, creating typically brilliant simplicity. With her eighth album, Motherlode, Hickman returns to the adult world with a vengeance; 20 songs over two discs with a sexual position from the Kama Sutra on the cover. Motherlode’s theme is the plight and triumph of women, and the album’s songs are amazing, even by Hickman’s own standards. …Motherlode is a sonic round-up of everything Sara Hickman has done so beautifully and consistently throughout her career. Here’s hoping she can keep finding more time for grown-ups. Grade: A” — Cincinnati CityBeat
Oh, man. I am so happy and proud of her, and excited that it’s all about to hit the streets in just a few days. And to tell the truth, I’m relieved as well. I had no idea how much work and frustration it takes to get an album out, especially when you do it independently. Everyone on her team has pulled together to produce a masterpiece, and everyone on the team also deserves some massive time off. Whew!
You can buy the album starting Tuesday at most major record retailers, including:
- amazon.com
- Barnes & Noble
- Borders
- Bull Moose (ME & NH)
- Hastings Books & Music
- Amoeba Music (LA & SF)
- Independent Records (CO)
- J & R Electronics (NYC)
- Cat’s Music/Pop Tunes (TN, SC, FL)
- Newbury Comics (MA)
- Rasputin Records (CA)
- Record & Tape Traders (MD)
- Tower Records
- FYE Stores
- Virgin Megastores
- Zia Records (AZ)
But we’d all appreciate it if you bought it directly from Sara’s official website — by eliminating the middleman, Sara gets to contribute to her kids’ college funds, and as an investor in the CD, I get paid back sooner! And any income I can get these days is pretty much necessary as an unemployed mortgage holder.
I’m off to pack for a weekend of 97° Austin heat — this just reinforces my decision to move to temperate San Jose, you know.
