Inside Out [EP]

Emmy Rossum

Geffen, 2007

http://www.emmyrossum.com

REVIEW BY: Elizabeth Crowder

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 09/04/2007

Classic opera is not a common background for the members of young Hollywood, but Emmy Rossum is not a typical actress. The costar of Mystic River, The Day After Tomorrow and Poseidon was once a member of the Metropolitan Opera Children's Chorus, evidenced by her astounding portrayal as Christine Daae in my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250 The Phantom Of The Opera.  A child prodigy who was discovered when she could sing "Happy Birthday" in 12 different keys, Rossum decided after great acting success to begin a singing career with a pop sound that would be more like Annie Lennox and less like Britney Spears.

A sampler album with just three tracks from the soon-to-be-released Inside Out is available through iTunes and her MySpace page (http://myspace.com/emmyrossum). Inside Out has an Enya-esque, easy listening feel with floating vocals and a tranquil feel. Rossum comments about this sound on her MySpace, saying of this EP, "Most of all I really wanted to test the limits of the voice, to try and use a vocal where you’d ordinarily use strings, piano and other instruments. Even some of the percussion is my voice."

The first track, "Slow Me Down," has Rossum on lead and background vocals and singing a cappella in the beginning of the song.  In a way it seems like a floating breeze, with her soft voice telling to "Slow me down / Don't let me live a lie / Before my life flies by / I need you to slow me down." This sentiment is powerful to me, since I tend to keep going when I should put on the brakes and just take a deep breath. Rossum and I apparently have that in common.

"Stay" is a love song that pleads without whining, and echoes "Slow Me Down" in the desire to be saved. The final track has a similar feel of gaining control and staying strong while expressing your needs. "Falling" is more of a pop sound than the other two tracks, though brings such a different sound that I am not sure how the general public would respond. The Inside Out sampler I listened to was exceptional, yet leaves room for Rossum to grow as an artist.

It will be interesting to hear the whole thing.

Rating: B

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© 2007 Elizabeth Crowder and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Geffen, and is used for informational purposes only.