Track Listing

1. Walk This World
2. Heal
3. Island
4. Throwing Fire At The Sun
5. Maybe An Angel
6. Sugar
7. Truth And Bone
8. Blue Black
9. Walking Higher
10. Light Years
11. Verona
12. Doubled Up

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27114 in Music
• Released on: 1995-08-15
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
The hooky, upbeat "Walk This World" sounds like a major hit, but it's merely the most accessible side of a feverish, poetic artist who'll be compared more to Sarah McLachlan and Sinead O'Connor than to Sheryl Crowe. Lush melodies abound, but some tracks ("Island," "Sugar") have an intensity worthy of Patti Smith, and there's emotional blood on tracks like "Blue Black." Other highlights on this edgy, affecting debut are "Maybe an Angel" and "Throwing Fire at the Sun." --Jeff Bateman

Customer Reviews

she's just wonderful
I can't say enough good things about Heather Nova. What can I say besides she's great?

a lot of musicians are either good writers or they are good musically, but not both. Heather Nova is both.

and she's just so good too. melodically I would say she is as good as Paul McCartney. her songs have 'hooks' and they are memorable.

so where is her fame? well I think she is a person who grew up traveling and goes her own way, in a lot of ways.

and

I like walk this world.

and I like - walking higher and - I like all of them.

Island is really good, and haunting. about domestic violence.

but I can't really capture her appeal in words. with a more famous musician, I don't worry about that b/c I assume people are somewhat familiar with the music. with heather nova, a reader might not be.

but she's just wonderful, in my NOT so humble opinion.

iTunes has musical samples. her music has a haunting quality and that is appropriate b/c evidently Nova lost a loved one early in life. her song 'walking higher' is about trying to go on after a loved one has gone. and the ruthless questioning that results. could I be walking higher? if I tried harder, if I was better, I was was more...(more what, I don't know) but.

I have had issues with severe unresolved grief and 'complicated mourning' and that is a really good song.

and then there is 'throwing fire at the sun.' I have to admit I am not exactly sure what that is about :), but I like it. maybe it is about adding one's own personal share of heat and light to what is already there, and the futility of that? even though we can be quite destructive to each other. I don't know but.

Nova grew up on a boat and her songs reference the sea and stars quite often. she tends to be very concrete in her descriptions; that is, vivid. but she tackles relationships as well.

she is also not afraid to show both intelligence and passion. she reminds me of Natalie Merchant in some ways, although more obscure.

she has a great sense of rhythm and I like the frequent astronomical references. Nova is a stage name chosen in part b/c she loves the stars and grew up navigating by them.

she said that Island has lyrics that she is very proud of. and I think Island is a really good song, about domestic violence. it is haunting and clear but it has an odd kind of beauty as well. which to me there is beauty when people survive terrible conditions. this is a situation I personally went through as a teenager.

It is a great CD.

Sensual, Determined, and Haunting
Oyster is a gem if you're looking for something raw and feminine that isn't rock. Her voice is high and yearning, but enticing rather than annoying. The songs vary from extremely catchy and radio-worthy (Walk This World) to haunting and ephemeral (Island); all of them have something that grabs you.

Good lyrics are very important to me, and Heather Nova excels at them. The album pulses with dark artistry. Throwing Fire at the Sun is especially intriguing: "I think of Venus sinking down into the sea, and what it is to be alone and have nothing...Remember stealing oranges and how they bled? And you're the one who showed me how to touch myself." I always find myself captivated by her words.

Oyster is haunting and vibrant. It outshines Heather's other five albums, so if this is your intro to Heather Nova you are in for a bit of a letdown. All of her other albums have great songs on them (well, except for Glow Stars, where nothing stands out), but they're sprinkled between some forgettable and some just plain awful songs. Redbird may be the best bet for most. Shop around; maybe you'd be better off picking up a few songs like "Gloomy Sunday" and "This Body", and then throwing Poe into your CD player.

I am really sorry if you hear the songs "Glow Stars", "I'm the Girl", or "If I Saw You In A Movie". I'm sure she didn't mean to do it.

Poetic Rock
Oyster opens with the brooding mid tempo rock number Walk This World, Heal is a tender ballad with lovely acoustic guitar whilst Island is a long passionate rock song with great vocals and evocative imagery. Love ballads like Light Years, Verona and Maybe An Angel are found alongside surges of aggressive rock. Sugar has plenty of tempo variation, starting out slow and atmospheric like a spoken poem, then developing into a full-blown rock number. I like the solemn drums and interesting arrangement of Throwing Fire At The Sun. A highlight of Oyster is the melodic pop song Truth And Bone with its poetic lyrics and hypnotic chorus. The poignant and tuneful Doubled Up In Love that concludes the album is my favorite. Nova seems to prefer complex arrangements where tender balladeering alternates with uptempo, powerful rock sections in many of her songs. Her music reminds me of both Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morissette. The style is an appealing blend of rock and pop and the album contains some exceptional songs.