Lisa Hugo’s third album, It’s Time, brings this Australian native’s lively voice to a wider international audience.  Lisa began her musical career at age eight, playing piano in her first solo performance that was heard by 400 people. That’s a remarkable feat for even a seasoned artist trying to bring their music to listeners.

Though she could have turned to classical piano, Lisa discovered that she had a voice that audiences perhaps enjoyed more than her playing and so was trained at the Australian College of Entertainers, where her three octave range was cultivated. This launched her into television, theater, and film, and made her a draw at high-end hotels in her country. In 1994, she headlined her own show on cruise ships and then recorded her first CD of her own songs called, Don’t Let Go, a year later.

During the latter half of the 1990s, Lisa played 5-star hotels in the grand cities of Europe and Istanbul Turkey. When she settled in Hamburg, Germany, she recorded her second album, Natural, and played regularly in her solo act as well as with a band she formed called the Urban Pop Ensemble.  In 2004, Lisa moved to Belgium where she taught voice and gigged with a new band called Lushlive. Janos Bruneel (bass), Pieter Vandergooten (drums), and Dirk van der Linde (guitar and Hammond organ) offered the instrumental support she wanted that complemented Lisa’s piano work and her voice. They provide the restrained backdrop for Lisa’s new album, It’s Time, which was recorded in Belgium. Today, Lisa is based in Dubai, UAE, where she is writing new music and coaching young voices, as well as gigging in the region and back in Europe.

It’s Time is an 11-song album, composed of Lisa’s songs and three covers. Her rendering of the Stevie Wonder tune, “Blame It on the Sun,” is delicious. Her voice against her piano touches and Dirk’s contemplative acoustic guitar is exquisite. She also turns the rocking Joe Cocker’s hit, “The Letter,” into a torch song. The band’s backup is tight and hits more of a jazz note. It’s tasty. But it is the Eva Cassidy tune “Time Is a Healer” that shows Lisa’s range in style. Here she takes on the soul singer style and does it with a grace that even Aretha Franklin would smile at.

Hearing only those songs, some critics might just write off Lisa Hugo as a great technician of other people’s music. Though she adds her own touches to these tunes, it is certainly her own songs that show Lisa’s true talent.  She writes of relationships and inner discovery that anyone, man or woman, could understand. Her initial track, “With You I Can Be Me,” sets a tone of freedom in a relationship—and perhaps an attitude about life—that pervades the entire album. And it isn’t just about her. Lisa’s song, “Lovin’ You,” is about clearly about the object of her love having freedom and the intensity of her love.   She continues that unconditional love in “Oh, My Baby” and “I’m Gonna Miss You.” These songs could be about a lover or a child. That’s clearly the case in “Butterfly,” which echoes an intense parental love while underlining the need for freedom to grow and become. “Find Myself,” like the initial track, echoes the power of a relationship to foster growth and change.

Lisa puts another spin on this quest for freedom and personal growth in “Please Try to Understand.” It’s a poignant plea for understanding between two people when one grows faster than the other. It is a tender song with just bass and cymbals in back of Lisa’s lovely voice.

The album closes with “Strong at Heart,” an encouraging story about perseverance.

It’s Time presents upbeat tunes and thoughtful songs that uphold love and foster personal growth and discovery. It is most definitely an album for the twenty-first century that speaks to lovers and parents and women, in particular, though the songs will find appeal across gender, geography, and musical genre. Lisa’s voice delivers every nuance and the members of her band make sure what she has to say is underlined but not overshadowed by the power of their own talent.

Reviewed By Janie Franz

admin CD Review Writers, Janie Franz It's Time, Lisa Hugo