Janine Wilson Bio

Janine Wilson's name carries with it certain expectations. A big voice with a stage presence to match. Award-winning songs full of love, heartache, and mischief. A command of vocal styles ranging from blues to Americana roots rock. And while those expectations will not go unfulfilled with her next album, don't let the familiar face on the cover fool you.

It's time to wake up to a very different Janine Wilson.

Her third album since releasing the debut The Blue Album in 2000, Wakin' Up is Janine's first album of all-original material, making it her most personal artistic statement to date. Janine teamed up again with guitarist extraordinaire Max Evans (Ugly Americans) to write the songs that would eventually belong on Wakin' Up. The album opens with another award-winning track, "It Should Be Me," and though this song appeared on Wilson's 2005 album Save Me From Myself, the similarity ends there. The guitar licks of "Just Kiss Her" make it apparent that this vulnerable side of Janine Wilson hasn't softened her, a fact mirrored by the directness of her lyrics. The heartache and pain are palpable in her phrasing as she sings "Disappear," a rock ballad reminiscent of Sheryl Crow, contrasting with the masked denial found in Evans's "Not For Real."

With the pseudo-title track "Wakin' Up in Texas," a new direction starts to appear, blending her bluesy roots with a pop-rock sensibility more akin to Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders. The desperation of her lyrics draws you in as the first half of the album ends, and as the second half begins, the sweetness of the acoustic guitar on "Only One In Love" capitalizes on that closeness, commiserating the loneliness of unrequited love. The pop-rock angle continues in "Kiss You At Hello," a shamelessly hopeful song of love at first sight.

Janine sings about the urgent need for green living during today's hard times in the alt-country-tinged "The Grass Is Always Greener," followed by an equally passionate plea to not waste an opportunity for love in "Rustin' In the Rain."

Recorded with Blake Morgan of Engine Company Records's studio in NYC and at Philadelphia's Studio 4 with Grammy Award-winner Phil "Butcher Bros." Nicolo, Wakin' Up proves to be yet another step in Wilson's continuing evolution.

Wakin' Up received Album of the Year, Roots Rock Album and Song of the Year Wammie Awards from the Washington Area Music Association (WAMA)!

It Should Be Me won the Rock/Alternative Category in the 26th Annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest!

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Author
Michael Lee Price
over 30 days ago to Janine Wilson

Sounds Great Janine



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