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Carolyne Mas: Music

Global Music Pulse

(BILLBOARD - Ellie Weinert)
June 5, 1993
"GERMANY: Although she is a veteran of the New York City scene and three U.S. albums on Mercury Records a decade ago, singer/songwriter Carolyne Mas has been so successful in Germany that she has lived, recorded and toured here since 1989. Ironically, the album that won her such popularity--a live recording titled 'Mas Hysteria' (Phonogram)--was intended only as a promotional device for forthcoming TV performance. It yeilded a string of hits and eventually sold more than 250,000 copies, making it one of the most successful 'official bootlegs' ever. Her new album, 'Reason Steet' (Phonogram), was recorded in Bremen, Mas' hometown for the last three-and-a-half years. It showcases her versatile singing style, which echoes performers from Janis Joplin to Joni Mitchell, in musical settings encompassing blues, folk and rock. Mas currently is on a promotional club tour of six major cities, performing songs from 'Reason Street' acoustically on guitar, harmonica, and piano. While the album has been likened, in places, to anything from R.E.M. to 'Led Zeppelin IV,' her one-woman show recalls the simplicity and sincerity of the original Greenwich Village singer/songwriters, but her material is fresh, and the wry narrative of a song like the single, 'Driving On The Radio' has its own distinctive '90s appeal."