Kristen Vigard Demos Vol.1

A former understudy for the lead role in Broadway's Annie and then a television actress throughout the first half of the 1980s, Kristen Vigard gave up acting in 1986 to concentrate on music. Having fallen in with funksters the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Fishbone on the Los Angeles scene, she had a more advantageous entrance into the business than most, had she elected to use it. Her main assets, however, had little to do with her friends and everything to do with her talents, which are amply displayed on this eponymous debut, an artistic if not (as it turned out) commercial achievement. Kristen Vigard isn't free of flaws. There are several missteps, but the many strong moments easily outnumber the few unsuccessful ones. Aside from a trio of covers, Vigard wrote or co-wrote everything on the album, and she puts in nary a subpar performance, although her heart doesn't seem to be into a couple of the songs. The bland, faceless adult contemporary R&B of "Waiting for You" is the only complete stinker, although the cover of Bill Withers' "Use Me" doesn't fare so well either, replacing the tantalizing slink of the original with a nimble-but-anemic quasi-funk that loses most of the steam of the lyrics. Like some rock bands when they try to take on the blues, Vigard also begins to falter somewhat when the tempo turns up. "Stone City" and "Paint My Head" are serviceable funk tracks, and her singing is technically fine, but Vigard sounds less comfortable trying to work up a sweat to carry off the dirtier rhythmic grooves. She never cuts loose and, as a result, the material never catches fire. That is not a hurdle, however, on the Leon Russell cover, "Out in the Woods." Essentially a duet with Anthony Kiedis, the tune proves that when Vigard wants to go down-and-dirty funky, she is fully capable. And oddly enough, she has no problem sounding convincing on the slow acoustic blues of "12 Bar Blues," one of the best and most powerful performances on the album. Much of the rest of the album is resplendent and dreamlike. "The Announcement," with its labyrinthine melody, evokes both Middle Eastern progressions and Celtic melodies. The same goes for the even lovelier "Me So Far," again mixing Celtic with, this time, Appalachian folk. The finest song, however, is the exquisitely melancholic "Slave to My Emotions," a perfectly produced acoustic guitar/saxophone ballad co-written with then-new Chili Pepper John Frusciante and featuring Vigard's most soulfully heartfelt vocal. Kristen Vigard is not always worthy of its namesake's obvious gifts. The music and voice are occasionally mismatched, and the album tries on too many ill-fitting hats. But then, it is a first album, and if it's a mixed bag, it certainly showed extraordinary promise, at least enough to require a follow-up that could fully flaunt Vigard's strengths. Unfortunately, she was not heard from again in such a high-profile way until her stunning voiceover performances for Illeana Douglas' thinly veiled Carole King-like character in Allison Anders' 1996 film Grace of My Heart. Hopefully listeners won't have to wait so long to hear from her again.