Bird’s Eye View (2006)
Artist:  Bel Morrison 
Label:  independent  
Length:  10 tracks / 38:47 minutes

Bel Morrison is a singer-songwriter, acoustic guitarist and keyboardist who hails from the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. 

To my knowledge, Bel’s outstanding debut long player never received any airplay from radio stations in her hometown which was a sad mistake.  However, as Led Zeppelin state so well in their biggest hit single ‘Stairway To Heaven’, ‘there’s still time to change the road you’re on’.  Now with Caleb James at the production helm of her current album You Are My Destination (2009), they’ve done just that and Bel is finally getting some airplay.

Bel has a beautiful, soothing voice that possesses a great vocal range.  The only artist that comes close to Bel in the vocal department that I know of is independent artist Hoi from the States.  www.hoimusic.com. 

I first heard about Bel Morrison from singer-songwriter Aliki www.aliki.com.au.  She recommended Bel and her music to me for a live music event in Brisbane I was helping to coordinate.

Bird’s Eye View contains 2 songs (‘Fearful Is My Name’ & ‘We’ve All Got Wings’) from her previously-released Fragments EP (2004) which she recorded as part of her assessment for her music degree which she completed through the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. 

Every song on this album is a musical gem, so it’s hard for me to single any out.  However, I shall focus on my favorites.  I would describe the opening song ‘Battlefield Hymn’ as an anthem for the disciple or follower of Christ.  The chorus contains the line: ‘I can face all things by Your strength in me…’ echoing the Apostle Paul’s words from Philippians 4:13 .  The radio-friendly (why a certain radio station in Brisbane didn’t play this is beyond me?!) ‘Your Way’ opens with the honest confession ‘I desire the praise of man more than the praise of God’ but continues with the realization in the chorus: ‘Your way is the only way that leads to life, that’s abundant and dancing in my veins’.  The lyrics of the title track remind us that there’s more to rely on than just our limited human perspective – in and through Christ we have access to God’s perspective.  As you can see, there’s a real vulnerability/honesty in Bel’s lyrics about the highs & lows of life with Christ (check out ‘Fearful Is My Name’) as well as a grateful recognition of God’s grace in the words ‘How simple is Your message of nothing I can do, but live my life in freedom, coming back to the truth that He loves me’ (‘Simplicity’) and ‘By His grace He longs to change our lives, and teach us how to use our wings to fly’ (‘We’ve All Got Wings’).  Bel sings about a God-given destiny and purpose for every single human being in the chorus: ‘We’ve all got wings and are meant to fly, there’s a purpose and a plan for every soul alive…’.  ‘The Princess Song’ is a touching song about Jesus Christ as the Prince of glory who sees all people as princes/princesses: ‘See your Healer desires to take you home. For your love the Prince of glory left His throne.’

It’s really difficult to categorize Bel’s music - my attempt would be ‘intelligent pop with a folk/jazz edge to it’.  Much of it has a definite worship focus that is Spirit-inspired and not manufactured/contrived/mass-produced.  Some songs have a jazzy feel to them.  Bel’s lyrics are poetic.

I look forward to hearing her latest album in its entirety.

Frank Rasenberger     January 2011  
http://www.myspace.com/frankrasenberger 
http://www.myspace.com/liveatchapel