" I think music is our most important form of communication, it crosses all boundaries and has the power to affect people's lives -- both the songwriter and the listener." So says Alana Davis. Her stunning debut album, Blame It On Me, is more than ample evidence that the mercurial singer/songwriter has indeed grown up watching and listening to the world around her. "Making this record was a discovery process for me," she says. "I went into it thinking I wanted to collaborate and find material, but somewhere along the line I realized that it was going to have to come from me. My producer/partner, Ed Tuton, has supported my writing and development from the beginning, and through all the stops and starts and turns we took, he became my one and only collaborator." Alana was also fortunate to meet one of her idols in the course of preparing for her debut. "I had a very special meeting with one of my heroes, Bill Withers, who kept me going in the right direction," she says. "His advice and kindness stay with me." Whatever the inspiration, Alana's music has a distinctly personal flavor. You hear it on songs like the gentle but serrated world view of "Weight Of The World," or the funky-playful hopefulness of "Love And Pride," or the weary but wise "Rest of Yesterday." The standout, however, just may be the fresh and delightful honesty of the LP's title track, "Blame It On Me." The singer also unleashes a percussive vocal display on a brilliant re-working of an Ani Di Franco song, the scruffy "32 Flavors." Alana's floating, signature delivery lifts the album from the sameness of the current crop of female vocalists placing her in the more reflective glow of her influences: from her parents to Stevie Wonder to Siouxsie Sioux to Joni Mitchell, whom she holds in the highest esteem, and of course Bill Withers. Alana beams when she recalls some of the wisdom he was kind enough to impart. "He told me not to waste my chance. To do something meaningful." One listen to Blame It On Me confirms the purpose accomplished.
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