Tara Oram - Chasing the Sun

A veteran of Canadian Idol and a CMT Canada docu series, Tara Oram has just released her debut album on Canada's Open Road Recordings.  Does the album stand up to or above stateside Idol-related releases?

Just like with American Idol in the United States, contenders from Canadian Idol have felt country music's pull.  Tara Oram is the latest of the show's contestants to score a record deal (with Open Road Recordings) and "Chasing The Sun" is her debut album.  Rather than record exclusively in Canada, Tara came to Nashville to record the bulk of the album with various producers.  Five of the songs were produced by Phil O'Donnell, Four were produced by fellow Canadian Carolyn Dawn Johnson, while two were produced by Doc Walker's Murray Pulver and one track was produced by Canadian hit songwriter Chris Perry.  While there are four producers on the project, the album does have a cohesive flow to it.

First single and album lead-off track "Fly Girl," which was written by Kaci Bolls and Marv Green, has a sound that's not different than what's played on country radio here in the states (except for maybe a more 'traditional' feel to it). It's a song about a girl taking a chance and chasing her dreams.  There's a whole Martina-vibe to the song that makes it work.  Canadian Gordie Sampson and Hillary Lindsey both had a hand in writing Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take The Wheel" and both co-wrote "538 Stars," an up-tempo song about young love that becomes an old love.  It's a hook-filled contemporary country that rivals anything coming from American Idol's Kellie Pickler or Kristy Lee Cook.  Lee Ann Womack fans may very well recall "Don't Tell Me," a great Buddy Miller song that she recorded (with Buddy).  While Buddy doesn't appear on Tara's version, it was a smart choice of a song and shows off Tara's sweet, twang-y voice (it's also always nice to hear a steel guitar solo).  

CDJ and Tara co-wrote "Living The Dream," a fiddle-laced song that's all about chasing the dreams wherever they lead.  It's a nice, uplifting song that's not unlike Julie Roberts' "The Chance" or Sugarland's "Baby Girl."  If there's any track on "Chasing The Sun" that has an immediate impact its Liz Rose, Wade Kirby and Kim Tribble's "No Easy Way Out," a song about teen pregnancy and hard choices and how those choices can change life in many ways.  It's a jarring song in that it makes you sit and listen to each verse of the story.  "Taste The Good Life" is the other song Tara co-wrote for this project (With Kyle Weaver and Kelly Archer) and it's a fun little pop country number while "The Call" has an interesting story to it.  Written by Jeff Callery, the song was submitted to Tara during a contest for one person to get a chance to have their song recorded by her.  It's a well-written song about the impact that war has on us all and how there is a price to pay for many.  They sacrifice themselves so that we can have the freedoms we have.  

While it's likely that this album won't see the light of day outside of Canada, it is a well-produced and put together album that showcases a strong talent who could really make it down here in the states.

You can support Tara Oram by purchasing this album at Amazon Canada.

 

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