Violet Sky - The Sky’s The Limit
Review by Karl Magi
Overall Album Impressions
Violet Sky’s “The Sky’s The Limit” is the kind of collaboration I absolutely love. The way in which she’s worked together with Dave Bravo to resurrect his music from the ’80s has created an album that’s engaging in a way that I find irresistible. Violet Sky’s fresh vocals have given the original music new life and the quality of production from the digitized tapes is first rate. This is music that is alive and full of joy in a way that current mainstream music simply can’t replicate for me.
First of all, I’ve got to mention Violet Sky’s vocals because I find them utterly captivating. Not only does she have a beautiful-sounding voice, but it spills over with character and life. Her performances are alive and exciting, grabbing hold of me and pulling me along. The way in which she transmits emotion and creates dynamic strength deepens the engagement of every song.
Another strong part of “The Sky’s The Limit” are the lyrics written by various songwriters. These songs are direct and emotionally clear without being over-adorned or fussy. Each track has a wonderful pop energy and carries messages that are fun to hear while exploring all the feelings that come with life and love. The end result is music that’s hard to stop listening to and keeps bringing me back.
The backing music from the original tapes is a joy. The unstoppable liveliness of the performances and the engagement of the musicians adds to the ear-pleasing nature of “The Sky’s The Limit”. The music written by Dave Bravo and his bandmates is exuberant and charismatic, creating a completely enjoyable listening experience. I’d also like to mention the fact that all of the guitar and synth solos are first rate, adding to the quality of the music in each song.
I also want to mention Ted Perlman’s mixing and mastering which keeps the ‘80s feelings alive in the music. His ability to retain clarity and sharpness in the music while allowing the classic 1980s sensibilities to shine through adds to the richness and strength of this album.
My Favourite Songs Analyzed
“A Heartbeat Away” comes to life as a vivacious, bouncy melody and actively intertwining percussion jump together. Dave Bravo’s synth creates a jazzy, Latin vibe as Violet Sky’s gutsy, soul-filled voice erupts with the joyful, positively encouraging melody. John Morelli’s percussion snaps to attention as the chimes ring and the chorus is infectious and full of intense catchiness, drawing me in, while the synth trumpets have a cool shine. Violet Sky’s playful voice catches the song’s dynamic.
Chimes flicker with uplifting luminosity and the chorus jumps in with an easy-going bop. The trumpets and varied percussion add electrifying engagement while the vocals slip with caressing energy. The main melody wriggles as the synth trumpets ring out with galvanizing strength. As the song comes to an end, Violet Sky’s voice explodes with an irrepressible, youthful feeling and brassy notes ring out.
As she spends her nights out on the town, the narrator is “never finding love, the one I’m dreaming of.” She adds that it’s time to settle down and says, “I watch the clock strike midnight and I know before I see the daylight, I’m going to find you.” She can feel that the time is right and that the other person is close.
Our storyteller says that the other person is “a heartbeat away, close enough to touch, just a heartbeat away from now on.” She watches the other person’s “every move from across the room,” while feeling the romantic rhythm. The other person is “sending all the signs that say you could be mine.”
“Now it’s time to take a chance, before a word is spoken, the wheels of love are set in motion” for the narrator. They’ve gone beyond the point of no return and she asks the song’s subject to “let our love take over.” She doesn’t want the moment to vanish into a sea of darkness and she concludes, “Our love can rise above our fear, if we just let go.”
The main melody jumps in with a free-swinging, uplifting sensation and the wordless vocals are honeyed to start “What’s a Girl to Do?” Violet Sky’s voice is smooth and full of gentle emotion, hurting with the feeling of rejection but still hopeful. Violet Sky carries the chorus with dreamy affection, bell-like notes flashing before the brassy synth riff bursts with sunlight.
The feeling that is broadcast by the vocals grabs hold of me with its ’80s vibe and genuine emotion. A shining synth leaps and tiny notes sparkle with fragile brilliance. Dave Bravo’s synth solo glimmers with jazz-fusion brightness and Violet Sky captures all of the yearning within the words, her voice strong and clear. Guitar strumming shapes the music as impassioned caring fills the words and the song comes to an end.
While “this may come as a big surprise,” Our storyteller has had her eye on the song’s subject for a long while, but they’re “too busy to notice me at all.” She can’t stop herself from the way she feels and she’s “determined to get to you.” The other person won’t even give her the time of day and she can’t understand why she can’t get through to them.
She wonders, “What’s a girl to do when she wants to be with someone like you? What’s a girl to do when you can’t even see that I’m longing to be with you?”
“All my friends say I’m wasting my time, I’ll never have your heart,” and the narrator begins to think that it might be true. She adds, “There’s one girl that I think you forgot, there’s always someone ahead of me.” She asks what the other girls have that she hasn’t got and wonders, “Baby, what can I do to show you that I really want to share your heart?”
She concludes, “If I jump up and down, scream your name out loud, would it get you to see that you’re the only one for me?”
“Superstar” commences with trumpeting notes bursting out in the encouraging melody, radiating expressive energy. Violet Sky’s vibrant vocals carry a gentle, supportive melodic line. John Morelli’s drums explode as the infectious synth erupts with unstoppable energy and Violet Sky’s velvety voice embraces all of the caring and honesty within the words.
Michael Nehra’s guitar shimmers with a solar sheen while the dancing synth melody intermingles with the touching vocal performance. I enjoy the song’s message of simple affection while the underpinning drum beat propels it forward. As trickling tones move, Violet Sky’s voice soars upwards with heartfelt feeling. Dave Bravo’s synth solo is intricately intertwined and full of dynamic motion, while the chorus comes in again with bright uplift before the song ends.
“All my life I’ve tried to find what it is we’re searching for,” and the narrator has found it hard to understand why they always want more. She asks the song’s subject why they can’t believe that love is all they need. She points out that “you don’t have to be a superstar to satisfy my heart, you don’t have to be a superstar, there’s no need to play the part.”
Our storyteller has heard the song’s subject talk about the things they’d like to buy “someday when you find fame.” She reminds them that they don’t have to “waste your time on superficial thrills,” because she loves them just the same. She adds that no matter what the other person does, she will be right there for them.
To conclude, the narrator says, “You don’t have to be a superstar, I’ll take you just the way you are,” and reminds the other person, “Don’t be deceived by the smell of success, it isn’t always what it seems.”
Sunrise colours permeate the lead synth as it shimmers into the music to begin “Never Gonna Let You Get Away.” Trickling notes shift in the distance as Violet Sky’s warm, touching voice carries the main melody as it exudes loss and brokenhearted need. John Morelli’s drums provide underpinning guidance as the levitating notes glisten and Violet Sky captures deep affection with real clarity and immediacy.
The way in which she delivers the lyrics makes me believe in their emotional reality. The melody has an affecting expressiveness that grips me as the rhythm pulses smoothly and Dave Bravo’s chiming keyboard adds twilight luminosity. The ardent vocal performance drives home the sensations within the words as the synth ripples in the distance. Michael Nehra’s guitar strums with starry light, like the first brightness after the sunset. Reverberant tones glide as the guitar hovers and fades.
The narrator “would wish upon a star, but out here in the rain, the stars are hiding out.” She wonders if it’ll ever change. It turns out that all the freedom she needed was a heartbreaking wrench and she’s “never going to let you get away, now I know I love you.” She’s never going to let the other person get away from her again because she needs them with her.
“Between the two of us so close, I wanted the space,” but she didn’t think that the other person would feel replaced. She adds that “the velvet skies, stars I hide behind brought the rain I couldn’t stop.” She points out that “I always felt that it was time to leave, I should be wise enough to know.” She guesses that she was looking for “a sign to read (but) I read the wrong words in it, instead of trying to win it.”
“Time Out” starts off as the electric bass cascades and adds a funky vibe, while the guitar carries a melody that is full of fervent energy and a bluesy sensation. The drum beat explodes with intense motion and Violet Sky’s engaging voice joins the scintillating synth chords. The rhythm is full of dancing energy and the vocals fly with irrepressible strength, capturing me with celebration and a feeling of immediacy.
John Morelli’s drums flourish with vibrant motion and the vocals sparkle with freshness. The guitar rings out with fierce light and complex entanglement as Violet Sky captures every emotional nuance of the lyrics and the underlayer pushes forward dynamically. The vocals are lively and unstoppable before the song closes out.
“We’re always running, always moving, going somewhere,” but the storyteller says there’s a place that’s been forgotten as everyone is “caught in the rhythm of the madness of the motion.” The place they need to get back to is the heart and she says, “Just slow down for a moment ‘cause I believe all we really need is time out.”
The narrator wants to spend time with the song’s subject and take some time out together. She adds, “I think we lost ourselves somewhere in the commotion and we need some rescuing.” She wants to return to a time when they were content with simple things and “touch the sweetness of the moment.”
“Promise Your Love” kicks off as the actively jumping rhythm pulses with a shining guitar and a bell. Jazzy guitar licks slice with cool vibes as the wordless vocals add a groovy feeling. John Morelli’s beat locks into a pulsing line as Violet Sky catches the mixture of warning and passion in the words and the chorus explodes in wriggling energy.
I’m enamoured of the intense expression and honesty in the lyrics as Violet Sky captures them in her excellent, honey-toned voice. The funk of the low end gets me moving as the trumpeting notes vault with blinding light. The song’s undeniable catchiness is cut by Michael Nehra’s superbly played guitar, broadcasting fervent sensations with detail. Violet Sky takes hold of the feeling within the music again and drives it home while the brilliant tones and guitar intertwine with scintillating strength.
Our narrator doesn’t care that the other person “stayed out all night long, wasting your time just running ’round” before they met. The song’s subject was free then and only lived to fill their needs. Now that they’re together, she tells the song’s subject, “We can’t play no foolish games,” and points out that if they want her love, they need to change their “wicked ways.”
“Promise your love to me and never let me down, you have to promise your love to me right now.” The storyteller makes it clear that if that promise of love isn’t made, she won’t stick around. She points out, “I don’t need any fancy diamond rings, don’t want no furs,” but she does want security and the ability to love the other person through and through.
In conclusion, our narrator warns the other person, “Be careful not to spoil me with what you think I need, because I’ll slip right through your fingers. Take me seriously.”
With a quickly intertwining guitar line and blasting synth, “Show Me” leaps into action. John Morelli’s drums are sharp as tiny motes of synth glimmer and the dynamic vocals are let loose. The guitar adds a gruff edge while the chiming notes leap from Dave Bravo’s synth as Violet Sky expresses ardent feelings. I enjoy the speeding energy and the way in which Michael Nehra’s guitar intertwines with shimmering light.
The rhythm is propulsive as fragile tones contrast with the slicing guitar and Violet Sky’s strong performance. Quickly trickling notes are joined by the clean guitar as it unwinds with complex sound and howling strength. The chorus is deeply catchy and Violet Sky delivers it with panache as the rocketing beat keeps moving forward and the bluesy guitar cries out with intense feeling.
“We’ve been on and off for years now, shared both the laughter and the tears now,” and the storyteller doesn’t remember how it started, but “I’m tired of feeling broken-hearted.” She feels that it’s time to start a brand-new love affair. It’s “too late for promises,” and she needs some action.
The narrator says, “Show me that you want me, I’m going to lay my love right on the line for you,” as she points out she’ll do almost anything for the other person. She adds, “It’s time to focus our attention on all the things you never mention.” The other person tells her commitment isn’t easy, but “you’ll have to change if you want to keep me.”
In conclusion, the storyteller says, “I can’t wait around too long until you make up your mind. Too late for promises—I need some action!”
“I Found Love” opens with a vibrant synth line and uplifting guitar. As Violet Sky frees her voice, all of the affection and desire pour from it and draw me into the song. The foundational pulse drives on as her voice climbs with unstoppable joy while the guitar shines in the distance.
John Morelli creates powerful motion as the vocals brim over with elation and the guitar flicks through the music in a brilliant leap. In a slower segment, Violet Sky imbues her voice with caring and need, before Michael Nehra’s guitar solo jumps through the music with free-flowing abandon. The vocals broadcast pure happiness and the song comes to an end.
“In the middle of the night, we make love and it feels so right,” for the narrator. She adds that when the song’s subject is holding her, she can’t let go because it feels right. She admits, “I know I’m running with my feelings, maybe too fast,” but she can’t help herself or stop dreaming because “I think I finally found you at last.”
“Oh you’ve got me and I’m spinning,” since the storyteller found the song subject’s love and it’s just the beginning. She had no one in her life and “was lost and the future didn’t look bright,” but the other person rescued her from the depths before she almost drowned. She says, “I love this feeling that you give me, never knew just how much.”
To conclude, the narrator points out that the other person touches emotions deep within her in a way that only they can. She adds, “If this is the way love feels, I want to feel this way forever, baby.”
Conclusion
“The Sky's The Limit” is one of the most fun albums I've heard this year. The music’s verve and immediacy and Violet Sky's sincere and joyful performance combine to draw me in and keep me wanting more.
