RyLee Madison well on her way to top of country charts
Journal Pioneer, Summerside P.E.I
November 28, 2002

Any self-respecting modern country fan who listens to RyLee Madison's debut disc, the aptly named the life of rylee, will have to admit the Halifax singer sounds just as good as any of the modern ladies who come out of Nashville. She is already making some pretty remarkable inroads on Canadian country radio and should keep doing so for quite a while to come as several of the tracks on this disc are definitely potential hits.

I'd rank at least some of her material right up there next to Jo Dee Messina's. In fact, vocally, Madison sounds somewhat like Messina and displays the same type of conviction.

The disc, released by the independent Madison Drive Records, was produced by well-known Canadian producer Tom McKillip at The Bathouse in Ontario.

Madison also has some pretty big names playing for her, including George Strait's drummer Mike Kennedy, kd lang's bass player John Dymond and Dwight Yoakam's fiddler Don Reed. As well, she's got two top-notch Atlantic Canadian artists pitching in their talents, P.E.I's very own Lennie Gallant (harmony vocals) and Kendra MacGillivray (fiddle), both multiple ECMA award winners.

She also wrote all 10 cuts, in collaboration with Lennie Gallant, Jamie Warren and Steve Fox, to name a few. She proves she is a pretty damned good songwriter.

The catchiest tune for me is definitely the cool mandolin-led "Life is Good". It's fairly laid-back, breezy, lazy-hazy-crazy-days-of-summer type song featuring some nice shalalalalalas and some nice fiddle and accordion backing. Madison is obviously enjoying herself.

Other top picks in this delightful package:

- "It All Comes Back 2U", a very strong opening track that will impress any Nashville producer with it's super-solid vocals and strong fiddling and electric guitar playing;

- "B4 I Die", a nice mid-tempo cut featuring a nice, light, South American feel and cool organ effects that give it lots of character;

- "Simple Life", another energy-packed cut co-written with Lennie Gallant and performed to the nines, again with nice organ backing and a terrific electric guitar solo;

- and "Say A Little Prayer", a catchy and heartfelt gem with a somewhat different beat.

To be perfectly honest, there's not a bad track on this entire disc.

No label has picked up Madison but considering the quality of her material, that should happen quite soon.

And to think Madison almost didn't pursue a music career. She had abandoned her childhood love of music after high school to pursue a commercial design career. After getting her diploma, she got a job in the field. But as she was returning home from her first on-site inspection as a designer, she was involved in a life-altering car accident. Her permanent back injury led her to reconsider her music career. Thankfully for us.

Those who enjoy modern female country vocalists should check out this disc, which will surely be the first of many future CDs.