Turn the Page

With the exception of one tune by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, singer and TV personality Gloria Loring has turned to her composing skills to make up the program for her eighth album. At the outset of her career, Loring worked with folk group Those Four. Vestiges of the folk touch continue to be heard in her songs and delivery. But Loring is also versatile and copes well with a variety of styles. Soft rock is the style she set for such cuts as "About Love," complete with backbeat and background vocals. One can hear the intensity of a Southern gospel tune in the music for "Turn the Page." But it's the lyrics which distinguish Loring's work from the self-pitying material being penned these days. There's an optimistic, we-shall-overcome theme to the stories they tell, and, as such, they are quite refreshing. The love songs have a decidedly old-fashioned way about them as with "I Hear You Calling." And the music has an infectious beat about it. Loring gets outstanding support from Larry Steelman using the electronically enhanced keyboard and piano. His work is tasteful and never overbearing. Troy Dexter's acoustic guitar establishes the plaintive setting that makes "Fixing a Hole" an engaging track. Other musicians stop by throughout, playing such exotic instruments as bouzoukis, aborigine didjeridoos, and bamboo flutes. All the tunes on this album are worthy of a listen, but the one tune that best catches the motif of the session is "Song of My Father." It is truly a poem put to music which brings to mind material that was being sung by authentic folk singers of the 1960s. This album of original material adds luster to Gloria Loring's status as a pop music legend.