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Linda Sharar, a gentle voice for these troubled times. ANY SECOND STREET is the Rock Road records release from this East Coast singer/songwriter. This is just what we need to hear right now. Even the title is a timely echo of what we are all feeling. As Linda explains it, she lost a couple of very close friends over the past few years. Nearly everyday she finds herself driving down Second Street in her Boston-area neighborhood. In a thoughtful play on words, she refers to the fragility of life with the title, ANY SECOND STREET. It can happen at any second. Amen.

Since the music fits my mood these days, I hope that doesn't cloud my judgment. But I did listen to this CD before 9/11 happened and even then, I was impressed with this tasteful blend of light folk rock. The sound is sort of Indigo Girls (with one less girl). Much of the credit might belong to Producer Tom Dube. His subtle touch gives this album a depth that becomes more obvious with each play.

At the core of it all, are the songs. Sharar keeps it basic, but still says so much. The CD opens with "Come To Life," an optimistic call to embraceable arms. The sound of the approaching snare drum makes you sit up and take notice. And when Sharar penned "God is Good," she thought she was writing about the aching pain of the loss of a loved one. But listen to the lines "God is good. God is strange. Shall we thank him for our pain." Think about that lyric as you reflect on the events of recent times.

And now a word about Camp Hoboken. Sharar was a member of this loosely organized co-op of artists and musicians based in Hoboken, New Jersey. They were quite active in the mid-nineties in writing and teaching and learning from one another. Linda was definitely paying attention in class. On a personal note, I met several of the campers a few years ago while I was attending a memorial concert for a dear friend in Hoboken. They are a sweet and peaceful people. On another personal note, after the concert, I remember spending several minutes sitting on my car in a Hoboken parking lot, just staring at the New York City skyline. No more needs to be said about that.

If you pin me to the mat and force me to list my favorite cuts on this record, I would include the above-mentioned tracks and "Ninety-Nine Years." For reasons that are obvious to Linda and me, that cut would be at the top of my list. The late Don Brody, one of the founding members of Camp Hoboken, wrote it. He and Linda's sister, Connie Sharar were The Marys. If you have a stack of back issues of MBL lying around, check out my 1998 best CDs of the year list to learn more about the Marys. "Ninety-Nine Years" is the story of a man who is condemned to live in a dream, a dream that always ends. But it's the opening line that reaches your soul. "I used to live for the moment." We all did.

BOTTOM LINE: ANY SECOND STREET is a collection of contemplative songs set to a blend of light pop with a pinch of jazz flavoring. And it's all rooted in folk. There is much more here than first meets the ear. We have a tendency to turn to our folk singers at times like these. Will Linda Sharar still sound so right in another year? Count on it. Talent lasts. TOM SWOPE, MUSIC'S BOTTOM LINE October 2001.

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Other tidbits about Linda
Primary Gig - Maya's Mom
Secondary Gig - Software Engineer
Tertiary Gig - Singer/Songwriter
Hometown - Glen Rock, NJ
College - University of Virginia
Other passions - Soccer, Kayaking, Travel