The Most Touching Ballads By The Most Haunting Voice You Will Ever Hear

Compared to its population, Canada is blessed with a disproportionate great number of talented performance artists - and Sarah McLachlan is one of the best examples.

Maybe they are inspired by the endless expanses of the Great North and the blandness of the Toronto sprawl; maybe it is the English and French cultures creating unique sparks as they reluctantly merge; maybe it is living in Vancouver, one of the most ephemerally beautiful cities of the world, set on the ridge of the Pacific ring of fire; or maybe it is the eternal adolescence of the Canadian psyche or the freshly disillusioned naiveté of a nation of great poets and dreamers in the shadow of the bordering militaristic giant. Who knows.

Sarah McLachlan is a great Singer - and this is her very best album! I have Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (together with all her albums) since my university years - God bless the Due South TV Series that exposed me to her absolutely haunting voice! I have been playing it numerous times over the years, one could not get tired of this collection. The pieces are all gems, from start to finish! The music speaks directly to the soul, such poetic lyrics are so hard to find any more.

And, I promise you, Sarah's voice will haunt you forever.

A Deeper, More Mature Sarah

That was some Sabbatical! It has been 7 years since Afterglow, and I for one was starting to demonstrate some pretty pronounced withdrawal symptoms. But I always respect an artist who, having nothing new to add, will refrain from printing and marketing ...proof of this fact.

Sarah McLachlan's strong point has always been her mesmerizing voice and the beautiful poetry of her songs. That is why in this album instrumental accompaniment is kept to a minimum. Laws of Illusion is not a pop album. It deserves to do well because, although personal it is far from esoteric. Sarah sings about universal feelings of a human getting older, surviving heartaches, overcoming adversities and finding happiness once more.

If Fumbling Towards Ecstasy was the voice of a young couple in love about to start off their blissful life, Laws of Illusion is the voice of the same couple reaching maturity, whether they are still together or not.

Sarah is back. And, if you let her, she will take you deep into Dreamland.