On a lazy Sunday afternoon, or whenever you're ready to treat yourself to your own personal house concert, curl up in a comfy spot right in front of your speakers, and settle in with the new CD by Northwest adult contemporary artist Tina Lear, appropriately titled, The Road Home.

It's been two years since Tina Lear's last release, Full Moon Big Circle, the follow-up to her debut album, Classified Ads. Now comes The Road Home, a highly anticipated collection of songs deeply rooted in the soul, and full of Tina's passion, understanding, and humor about life. Tina explains, "I think of The Road Home as my Tina-grows-up CD. The first two are full of sweet romance and searing introspection about self, marriage, and family. This one has eyes that look out on everything around me. It's as though I suddenly realized there's this huge world that I'm living in and there's a hell of a lot of stuff I want to be paying attention to."

The Road Home unifies Tina's music with a greater eclectic and experimental energy than the first two CDs. From the big-band, jazzy appeal of "The Village is Ours," to the deep throbbing jungle beat in "Raise Your Voice," her vision for social possibilities comes clear. On the more intimate side, "Flyin' Solo" (based on the Edward Hopper painting "Nighthawks") tells the story of the lone woman in that late-night diner, yearning, hopeless, and yet determined to find her new life. "The Road Home" (title cut) is a reminder of our connectedness, and of the importance of both acknowledging and acting on it. The backup vocals for this song were recorded during a sold-out concert in May, 2000.

Musicians on The Road Home, anchored by Tina on piano, hail from New York, Chicago, Ft. Collins, Austin, and Seattle. Howard Levy lends his harmonica magic to three of the tunes, with a brilliant solo on the title cut. Gene Elders, who tours regularly with Lyle Lovett, does some heartbreaking violin tracks on "The Other Shore" and "Don't Look Away." Seattle stalwarts Clipper Anderson and Mark Ivester, long-time creative partners of Tina's, are here on several beautiful tunes, backing that sweet, familiar sound of Tina in her classic mode. Producer Mitch Watkins (Abra Moore) matches Tina's astonishing range of styles with masterful guitar work on this project.

Tina's songwriting is inspired by songwriters like Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Stephen Sondheim, Shawn Colvin and Sting. Emerging in Tina's own songs is a mix of sophisticated, modern romanticism and sharp humor that can only come from a writer who is acutely self-perceptive and imaginatively world-wise.

Tina Lear's growing popularity in Seattle and the greater Northwest has been fueled by the support she has received from KPLU, KSER and KBCS, as well as a growing number of other Northwest and nationwide radio stations, reaching 35 states by late 1999. "Classified Ads" (the title cut of her debut CD) was in heavy rotation at KPLU, and Tina attracted a sell-out crowd at Jazz Alley in the Earshot Jazz Sunday Night Series. She has also performed at SXSW Music Festival and Northwest Folklife.

Since releasing Full Moon Big Circle in 1998, Tina has spent the last couple of years writing. Last year, she composed the music and lyrics for Out of the Box! (book by Elise Forier), a musical produced by the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts in November of 1999. Out of the Box! was so successful, she and Forier have been commissioned to write two more musicals together for the year 2001. Tina has also given songwriting workshops for young people on both coasts.

Now, after creating two successful CDs, songwriting workshops and a musical, Tina Lear is gearing up for her first 6-week West Coast tour, coming this fall, with the release of The Road Home. Her life has for so long fueled her songs, now her songs are fueling her rich life in music, which will no doubt take her-with all the depth and excitement so present in her work-all the way home.

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her life has for so long fueled her songs, now her songs are fueling her rich life in music, which will no doubt take her all the way home.