Bubbling just under the surface for a few years, occasionally surfacing for an album release or festival appearance, Jenny and Alex Legg have won themselves a reputation for releasing music that is deeply soulful, honest to the point of transparent. This, their third release, is no exception.
Australian born and college-trained, Jenny Legg has a voice which is soft but gently emotional and the perfect complement to the stronger voice of her Scottish husband. Live the duo perform a strictly acoustic repertoire, but they've taken the opportunity of this recording to head in a more produced direction, with keyboards, strings, and even a brass section rearing its head. Drawing in elements of adult-contemporary and soft rock sounds, with some rootsy grit and even the odd hint of jazz ("Sailing Boat in Time"), the overall effect is sometimes a little heavy handed, but generally results in a delicate landscape on which Alex Legg's lyrics stand clear.
The album title is an apt one, as Mr. Legg lays open his heart and his dreams for the listener to explore. "Is There Love in the World" questions the responsibility of those of us who live in the comfortable north-western quarter of the world for so many of its ongoing problems, while the track which follows it, "Walking with Stones in my Shoes," is autobiographical and poignant as it tells of the child the Leggs lost to cot death ("We had a baby girl/on an autumn day/for a few short weeks we called her Kate/I can still recall how she touched my face"). Despite its tragic elements the song retains the glimmer of hope which is consistent throughout the album, a picture of God using fallen man to spread his word.
On the strength of this release, the bubbles coming from Jenny and Alex Legg's submerged location deserve to be rather better noticed. Although it has its weaknesses, and some will wish for a starker backing for the confessional lyrics, this is a mature offering from this hard-working couple.
James Stewart (6/24/99)
