The addition of horn and string arrangements to some of the songs is one of the first things that leapt out at me. Wow, producer Dave Chalfant has been a busy guy!, keeping way more corks than usual bobbing in the water. But the arrangements themselves are not too "busy" (in the sense of overkill), but show insight and good taste by way of augmenting the musical vision of the Nields. How nice then, to now have these full-blown studio realizations, which enhance but do not detract from the songs as they were already known in their more streamlined and stripped-down-to-basics live Nields versions. Vive la difference!

This new album continues the trend toward artistic self-actualization which began in the Nields' first full-band album _Bob On The Ceiling_, and which has been in process ever since, as reflected in their subsequent growth-spurts _Abigail_, _Gotta Get Over Greta_, _Mousse_, _Play_, and now _Home_.

"Be All That You Can Be" applies to far more than just the Army. The Nields seem to have come home to the realization of their own true destinies, not only as performing musicians but as human beings as well. This latest outing exudes more assurance in their calling, and more self-confidence than ever it seems, in view of their entire history of musical progression from the beginnings in_Bob_ all the way to their most mature artistic expression to date in _Home_.

There are many sides to the Nields. Some of the hallmarks of their music, just to name a few, are quirkiness, passion, intelligence, understatement, irony, deftness of lyrical insight --- and an idiosyncratic and eclectic mix of very diverse musical influences, from rock to pop to folk to country to gospel --- and all given a stylish Nields treatment in a way that stamps everything they do as their very own. The Nields are very difficult to describe or to pigeonhole, for there is no one else quite like them.

Nields music tends to be intensely personal too, and some of their fans respond to their virtual reality/representations of humanity, by finding bits and pieces of themselves in the songs, as if the music had somehow given wings of expression to previously unexpressed contents of their own souls, helping them to understand themselves better. Nields music functions therefore as far more than just a mirror to life; their art actually helps further the mysterious process of personal growth, by way of acting as symbols of transformation --- "living art," as it were.

This soul-searching quality of Nieldsiness, I believe, is one of the great sources of the appeal of Nields music; and is due to the fact, I think, that their music is based upon an extraordinarily well-rounded vision of life in all of its depth, richness, and fullness --- encompassing the complete palette of emotions, from sorrow to delight, from giddiness to heartbreak, from earthy sensuousness to the highest flights of the human spirit. And throughout all, the Nields channel this reconciliation of opposites through their own peculiar brand of joie de vivre, an unquenchable thirst for life, an exuberant zest for living. This one-of-a-kind Nields joy can be very contagious!

They can make you laugh; they can make you cry; they can make you think; and they can make you want to dance for joy! --- and sometimes several of the above, all at the same time.

The Nields are the complete package, and in _Home_ they deliver the goods, bringing it on home with all of the authority of their combined years of experience and hard-won wisdom, won from out of years of slogging it out in the trenches of the front lines of the battle. The Nields are "home free," because they've "been there, done that."

In words, in images, and in stories, the Nields in _Home_ continue their Nieldsy explorations of the many sides of the human condition:

--- the carefree elan of the Beatlesque "Jeremy Newborn Street," the pop-tinged "Caroline Dreams" and "May Day Cafe," the gospelly "Keys to the Kingdom";

--- the seductive charm of the straightahead rocker "Mr. Right Now";

--- the sublime sadness of their slow-waltz rendition of Hank Williams' classic "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry";

--- the infectious and almost irresistible dance-groove of "Jack the Giant Killer";

--- the delicate serenity of "Maybe It's Love";

--- the heartbreaking impassioned splendor of Nerissa Nields' "One Hundred Names";

--- the quiet yearning and burning desire of David Nields' "Wanting" and "Forever";

--- the liberating sense of new-found humanity and rekindled passion for life of "This Town Is Wrong";

--- the profound sense of having come home to one's true self through the fires of anguish and affliction, in the deeply moving and heartrendingly triumphant "Mercy House" and "I Still Believe In My Friends."

There are many sides to the Nields, and in _Home_, there is something for everyone to enjoy. What for some will be the songs that do not connect, for others will be the very ones that do. We all have different perspectives and different tastes, although deep down inside we are all very much the same. The Nields seem to be saying, that it is OK to be ourselves, and that it is the business of each one of us to be coming home to our own true selves, each in our own peculiar way.

I really can't sum it up any better, than in the plaintively pleading sirens' song of a refrain as found in "Mercy House," and as sung in so moving a fashion by Katryna and Nerissa Nields: "Come home, come home, come home --- Come home!"

© 2000