No Tricks. Just Magic - CD Review

A collection of fairy tales as told by Megan Hicks

Available from CD Baby

$15.00 per CD; MP3 Download $9.99

www.MeganHicks.com 

                Magic you are promised and magic is delivered in Megan Hicks’ latest CD No Tricks. Just Magic.  Concerning the tales shared on this CD, Hicks states , “I strongly feel that they chose me to be one of their voices to keep them alive.”

                Live they do!  In Hicks capable hands (voice?), they become so real that the listener forgets that the world they showcase is not real, though it is just as frightening.  Consider these things:

·         In The Shoemaker and the Elves, a shoemaker who is both skilled and honest cannot find enough work to sustain his family.

·         Twelve Dancing Princesses are locked away each night, held prisoner because their father is more concerned about his own happiness than theirs.

·          Mollie Whuppie’s parents abandon their three young daughters, who must fend for themselves.  Unfortunately, they end up in the hands of a villain who means to do them harm.

·         Davy and the Devil tells of a young man who loses his job because he performed an act of kindness.  He meets a legendary con man who plots to better his own situation at the young man’s expense.

             Such tragic stories appear in real world newspapers every day. In real life, there are rarely happy ending to such scenarios.  In the fairy tales on this CD, however, happy endings are guaranteed when selfless elves take pity on a good man, a kind elder wins a king’s challenge, a brave and clever youngster outwits a giant, and a rescued fish provides answers just when they are needed most.  Magic trumps trickery every time.

                As a bonus, Hicks has included The Shoemaker and the Groundhogs, her “gently satirical take on the quest for ‘happily ever after’.”  This new perspective on the shoemaker’s plight brings the album full circle, for a very satisfying journey, indeed. 

                Hicks has never been in better voice.  The sound on this CD is flawless.  The stories are tight.  When the roller coaster stops, the good guy has won.  If only real life could guarantee the same.