Sign of Truth

Sign of Truth

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
After a four-year hiatus, Texas-born Mexican-American Tish Hinojosa sets her confident, optimistic sights on merging the various, and at times, contradictory impulses of her discrete singer-songwriter vision. If Sign of Truth is her most successful synthesis of traditional Mexican music, troubadour folk, and new adult contemporary, it is also, song for song, her most perplexing. Hinojosa's four-year residency in Nashville has both blessed her songwriting with pop acumen--the anthemic melody of the title track and the modern-dance-groove-meets-eerie-lap-steel of "Taste of Dying Summer"--and burdened it with over-earnest poesy and innocuous sentiments. Lines like "I love the way you make me see / The things that really matter" and "If we don't count our blessings / We're wasting our time" sound like feel-good fodder for mainstream country or pop radio, but one expects more from Hinojosa. She seems more at home on "Wildflowers," a delicate homage to Pablo Neruda, and "Dreams I Have Seen," the album's penultimate and stand-out track. "You'd never believe the dreams I've seen," Hinojosa sings. Had her songwriting kept pace with her musical ambition, we just might have. --Roy Kasten

Tracks:

Sign Of Truth
Mona Lisa By The Rio Grande
Fire In Winter
Taste Of Dying Summer
Fence Post
Roses Around My Feet
I Have No Answers
Hey Little Love
Wildflowers
Faded Souvenir
The Dreams I Have Seen
Song For The Journey

Amazon.com

After a four-year hiatus, Texas-born Mexican-American Tish Hinojosa sets her confident, optimistic sights on merging the various, and at times, contradictory impulses of her discrete singer-songwriter vision. If Sign of Truth is her most successful synthesis of traditional Mexican music, troubadour folk, and new adult contemporary, it is also, song for song, her most perplexing. Hinojosa's four-year residency in Nashville has both blessed her songwriting with pop acumen--the anthemic melody of the title track and the modern-dance-groove-meets-eerie-lap-steel of "Taste of Dying Summer"--and burdened it with over-earnest poesy and innocuous sentiments. Lines like "I love the way you make me see / The things that really matter" and "If we don't count our blessings / We're wasting our time" sound like feel-good fodder for mainstream country or pop radio, but one expects more from Hinojosa. She seems more at home on "Wildflowers," a delicate homage to Pablo Neruda, and "Dreams I Have Seen," the album's penultimate and stand-out track. "You'd never believe the dreams I've seen," Hinojosa sings. Had her songwriting kept pace with her musical ambition, we just might have. --Roy Kasten

Customer Reviews:

Not Tish's Best...but that's still pretty good!.......2004-05-11

This is not my favorite of Hinojosa's work. The CD itself seems crowded....electric guitars, a piano and synthesizers figure in. Her voice also seems over-produced.

That said, these are still Tish's songs, and they do much to enlighten us about her love for her culture. The title is an anthem...typical for Tish in a way, in that she often includes songs uplifting the poor and disenfranchised on her CDs; but this time she acknowledges that all of us are drawn to the things that "mirror" success to us....youth, beauty,success, money. She got some flak for this as if she was endorsing such an outlook, but the song merely states that as humans we get drawn into seeking those things. "Roses Around My Feet" teases with an inviting melody, but refers to a Latino saying that means, you're just flattering me, I don't trust your words.

My favorite, sad as it seems, is "Fencepost", with only Tish's voice and piano. "Feelin' like a fencepost/Looking at a railyard/Everything's gray/My heart's pinned away/.....I'm broken...but I can't seem to just fall down." Haunting melody, with words that anyone who has faced a period of burnout in their lives will relate to.

This isn't the Western Swing or the Mexican Ballad type of CD that Tish has done before, and it may suggest a bit of a nod to mainstream pop, but it is still strong.

Amazed.......2004-01-12

So Tish has decided to put out an album with pop influences; who hasn't? Like one of the other reviewers, I am just glad that her pop-influenced songs are better than most of those put out by the more-reknowned Nashville stars. Her voice is still gorgeous and that overcomes any other perceived weaknesses. My favorite song on the album is "I Have No Answers", where her voice is twice as lush as what you will hear on any other pop melody song. As for my personal favorite Tish albums, Culture Swing and Aquella Noche are tops. Most reviewers consider Culture Swing her best album, but listen to Aquella Noche for vocal purity bar none.

good but not as interesting as some of her previous albums.......2002-09-12

I have been a fan of Tish's music for over 10 years and I respect the fact that each of her albums are different, this one seemed to be a blend of Spanish and pop motiffs. Although some of the songs I loved, others I found to be rather bland and contrived. To put things in perspective, however, I find all of her music to be far superior to that of the many well known pop country artists out there, many of whom can't write music let alone sing it. Although I like her earlier music, which seemed to be inspired by Mexican melodies more, this was not a bad album.

Disappointed.......2001-03-29

I love Tish. I bought this CD at her concert in Westport, CT last week and I am very disappointed with it. Count me among those who don't like the pop sound she creates here. The CD contains a number of songs that she performed in concert--they were beautiful live, but not on the CD. Drums, bass guitar. Who needs it? Certainly not Tish. And aside from that, for some reason her voice doesn't come through with the same clarity and beauty as on her other CDs, and as it does in concert. Experimentation is fine, but to me, this CD's a failure. (But I still love you, Tish.)

I love this album..........2000-12-17

I recommend this album to anyone, Tish fan or not. It did not leave me with the complete joy that Frontejas did, nor with the astonishment that Dreaming From The Labyrinth did, but I love every last song. I am amazed at the way she changes from album to album. And I would say to Tish: it's all great stuff. Don't mind what some of these people say. If you didn't change they would be complaining about that.

Average customer rating:

more of the same stuff but liked anyway
Is this a Helloween album?

Sign of Truth
Dionysus
Manufacturer: Afm
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock & Metal | Imports | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B00007MAKM
Release Date: 2004-01-01

Tracks:

Time Will Tell
Sign Of Truth
Bringer Of Salvation
Pouring Rain
Anthem (For The Children)
Holy War
Dont Forget
Walk On Fire
Never Wait
Loaded Gun (Bonus Track)

Album Description

2002 album featuring the vocals of Olaf Hayer (Luca Turilli) co-produced by Tobias Sammet (Avantasia, Edguy), mixed by Tommy Newton (Helloween). Includes the bonus track 'Loaded Gun.' AFM label.

Customer Reviews:

more of the same stuff but liked anyway.......2003-08-17

Typical power metal with enough melody to keep it enjoyable. I can hear alot of tobias(lead singer of Edguy and one of producers on this release) influence. Sounds alot like Luca Turrili and Rhapsody. So if you like these bands, or even Edguy, you will like this stuff too.

Is this a Helloween album?.......2003-08-13

I picked this disc up based solely on the fact that Olaf Hayer was the lead vocalist. Hayer's work on Rhapsody guitarist Luca Turilli's solo albums was so impressive that I had to check out his work on Dionysus. Unfortunately not even a great vocalist is enough to pull this album from being just another mediocre, Helloween-cloned power metal disc. I realize that bands like Helloween (and later Gamma Ray) had an undeniable influence on the whole power metal genre, but I have a problem when bands (like Heavenly and now Dionysus) that copy that signature sound without adding any innovations of their own. Bands like Blind Guardian and Angra are perfect examples of taking that basic power metal style and infusing it with their own unique elements to make music that stands out from the rest of the pack. Sign of Truth might as well have been a recent Helloween disc. The songs, titles, and lyrics follow that tried and true formula, and just don't yield anything noteworthy. I hate to be so negative about any metal album, but I had high hopes for this one and it did not meet expectations. I still enjoy Olaf Hayer's vocals and will look for more of his work in the future, but I hope he moves on to more challenging and exciting projects.

Average customer rating:

Might as well be a Helloween album

Sign of Truth
Dionysus
Manufacturer: Avalon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00006JOSB
Release Date: 2002-11-04

Tracks:

Time Will Tell
Sign Of Truth
Bringer Of Salvation
Pouring Rain
Anthem (For The Children)
Holy War
Don't Forget
Walk On Fire
Never Wait
Loaded Gun
Key Into The Past

Album Details

Japanese Version featuring a Bonus Track

Customer Reviews:

Might as well be a Helloween album.......2006-10-16

Average customer rating:

Might as well be a Helloween album

Sign of Truth
Dionysus
Manufacturer: Locomotive Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000BH4YW2
Release Date: 2005-10-25

Tracks:

Time Will Tell
Sign of Truth
Bringer of Salvation
Pouring Rain
Anthem
Holy War
Don't Forget
Walk on Fire
Never Wait
Loaded Gun [*]

Customer Reviews:

Might as well be a Helloween album.......2006-10-16

Average customer rating:

Might as well be a Helloween album
Great Simple Music
Great Band

Sign of Truth
Dionysus
Manufacturer: The End Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00007JGUI
Release Date: 2003-01-14

Customer Reviews:

Might as well be a Helloween album.......2006-10-16

Great Simple Music.......2005-04-26

I first heard of the Singer Olaf Hayer in the amazing Metla Opera Aina Days of Rising Doom, and set out to find albums sung by all the great actor/singers in the album. One of the first ones I looked for was Olaf Hayer. Although his vocals were a little diffrent in this album I was not disapointed. It reminds me greatly of another Metal Opera Avantasia.

THe songs are fairly simple, yet fun. The best song on their is Anthem for the Children, which is just a great song about the bad things that happen in childrens lives. So if you like simple music, with keyboards, and wiling vocal this is the album for you.

THE GREAT ETNEBOB HAS SPOKEN

Great Band.......2003-12-18

If u are into power metal this is the kind of band for u, it's a great band you should listen to it, great melodies and powerful guitars, .. enjoy!!!