Sharon Klein’s The Way Back Home is the album fans of folk and world music look for each year. Not only does Sharon bring us some intricate guitar playing and some lovely lyrics designed to captivate.

The album opens with Valley Of Dreams a song that Sharon describes as partially autobiographical and just a little bit reminiscent of the way life was in the early part of the 1960s. The lyrics take you back to a time when dreams were big and young men were going off to fight. You see a brother killed a family torn apart. The song shows dreams lost and finally dreams regained.

Down Mexico is another song that has the theme of dreams. These dreams are unobtainable and you feel that loss right along with Sharon. This is one of those songs that will bring a tear to your eyes.

Noura has an exotic middle-eastern flair that is guaranteed to captivate. One listen and you’ll be charmed by Sharon’s voice. The story she tells however is sad and yet inspiring. It is the tale of a woman from Afghanistan forced into an unwanted marriage to a man who kept a harem. She escapes leaving her child behind and mourns her homeland and the flattened village where she once lived.

It doesn’t take more than a listen to see how deeply personal Sharon’s lyrics can be but there are two songs in particular that are more personal than the rest; Happy Dogs and From This World To The Next. Happy  Dogs carries a dedication to two of her late four legged friends. This song is a wonderful tribute to her animal friends that have gone to the next. Happy Dogs is a light and almost lively instrumental that really let’s Sharon’s fantastic guitar playing shine through. Tippy and Willy would be very pleased.   From This World To The Next is even more personal than that, the song focusing on her mother whom she lost in January of 2009. I dare any of you who have lost someone not to conjure that loved one and be moved to tears.

There is no lyric that can compare to these “and I move on with my life I listen close and hear you say, I’m a candle burning brightly, I’m a candle that protects, I have gone to the almighty. From this world to the next.” These lyrics are so beautiful and inspirational. You can feel the love she has for her mother with each word. I’m sure she’s smiling down on her from the next world, pleased at her daughter’s accomplishments.

There’s more to this album than sad, heart string tugging songs. Not Far Away is a jazzy tune with a spiritual message. This is probably one of the only songs on The Way Back Home that doesn’t deal with darker subject matter. It’s an uplifting song about how the higher power has helped throughout life in good and bad times.

Listen to this album with an open mind and heart. Maybe once it ends you will find you’ve learned something from the songs Sharon sings. At the very least you should have had a beautiful listening experience.

Reviewed By Andrea Guy

Andrea Guy, Reviews Sharon Klein, The Way Back Home