StarVox

At its worst commercial music is soulless prolefood for the Great Unwashed, inoffensive but ultimately forgettable.  At its best commercial music is successful because its genius transcends boundaries and appeals to everybody.

The latest crap from Brittany Spears has sold millions of copies; so has Stevie Wonder's *songs in the Key of Life*, the Clash's *London Calling" and Mozart's *Requiem*.  Sabrina's debut CD, "Euphoria" is an unabashedly commercial release.  Songs like "I'm Alive" and "Tell Me" would fit comfortably into most AOR/Adult Contemporary playlists.  The arrangements are standard Studio Rock (lead guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards, drum machines), and the vocals are invariably silky smooth.  But there's strength below the sweetness, and emotional depth beneath the hummable tunes.

"Bring Me Down" features backing strings.  Backing strings can often send perfectly innocent songs into territory best reserved for Lawrence Welk's ghost; thankfully, not this time.  Sabrina's sad timbre, and her letter-perfect enunciations, remind me here of Joan Baez or Judy Collins.  The finger-picking acoustic guitar work on "Find Another" and "Star" recalls country-ballad rock.  (I'd love to hear Sabrina cover Firefall's "Strange Way" on her next release).

Sabrina's gift for singing is matched by her gift for choosing talented producers and backing musicians.  Spyro Karagiannis and Keith Pires (who share guitar and bass duties) are top-notch artists who know how to play a supporting role.  Their arrangements showcase Sabrina's voice and are always tasteful but never mannered.  The instrumentals, like the singing, always sound like the performers really care, not like they're trying to comply with a marketing format.

Many Stalinist critics hated the music of Dmitri Shostakovich, calling it "bourgeois" and "commercial."  Today, people hail Shostakovich as one of the 20th century's greatest composers; nobody remembers his detractors.  Don't be a Stalinist: get a copy of Sabrina's "Euphoria" today.  This is popular music which matters.