Personnel: Amanda Marshall (vocals); David Wipper (acoustic guitar, mandolin); Tim Pierce (acoustic & electric guitars); Bob Mann (acoustic guitar); Tommy Byrnes (electric guitar); Peter Kent (violin); Erica Duke-Kirkpatrick (cello); T-Bone Wolk (accordion); Louis Taylor (soprano saxophone); David Tyson (keyboards, programming, background vocals); Leland Sklar (bass); Kenny Aronoff (drums, percussion); Diana DeWitt (background vocals).

This Canadian singer has a pop-rock style reminiscent of Sheryl Crow, with a dash of Melissa Etheridge's growl. Her earlier influences range from folk-popper James Taylor (evident on "Trust Me [This Is Love]") to her countryman Bryan Adams ("Sitting On Top Of The World"). As in Crow's songs, characters from all walks of life populate Marshall's songs, whether it's the Southern homemaker escaping her alcoholic spouse in "Birmingham" or the lost soul looking for salvation in "Last Exit To Eden." Only 10 songs long, AMANDA MARSHALL is a tasty appetizer for what promises to be a delectable body of work.

Peter Kane, Q Magazine, June 1996

Anybody getting restless for something new from Sheryl Crow could do a lot worse than getting hold of this debut from young Canadian, Amanda Marshall. Produced by David Tyson whose main claim to fame is probably Alannah Myles's Black Velvet, it may not win too many prizes for originality, but in sticking rigidly to the well-worn Californian soft rock formula of some good, big echoing choruses and playing that is right on the button, it barely puts a foot wrong. Her voice is strong and true and not overly prone to histrionics, even when the songs are more concerned with loss rather than celebration. A couple of the ballads, Promises and Beautiful Goodbye, both with suitably plangent piano, sound particularly fine. If only she'd had a hand in writing more of the tunes herself, she'd sound even more impressive.

Mark Blake, Q Magazine, March 1999

Trampled in the post-Morissette rush, fellow countrywoman Amanda Marshall's first album appeared and disappeared almost overnight. Filed alongside Meredith Brooks, Patti Rothberg et al, Marshall favoured a gentler, more countryfied approach than that of her peers. Largely penned by outside writers - among them American hitmaker David Tyson - standouts Fall From Grace and Birmingham embraced hummable Sheryl Crow-ish pop and thoughtful balladeering, and while Marshall's self-penned Sitting On Top Of The World falls short of the quality attained elsewhere, her voice remains confident and arresting. With the comparable Vonda Shepherd presently scaling the British charts, it might be ventured that all Amanda Marshall really needs is a bit-part in a successful television show.

© Frank Steven Groen