Anything But Ordinary Credits:
Words and music by Deb Ferrara
Produced by Dan Marfisi of JonesHouse, Los Angeles
Mixed by Carter William Humphrey - Cat Hork Studios, Silver Lake, CA
Mastered by Scott Hull, The Hit Factory, NYC
Reviews and Accolades
Seth Saltzman, Senior VP ASCAP, says about "Anything But Ordinary".....
"The music, performance, production, packaging is just fantastic! Much, much success!"
NY ROCK STREET BEAT - October CD Reviews by Bill Ribas http/nyrock.com
Ferrara offers up a highly polished disc of hook-filled pop songs that are just aggressive enough to raise your hackles a bit, and yet not harsh enough to upset your parents. The polishing here is more a reference to well crafted, because despite the excellent production, my guess is that Ferrara has a good idea of how the songs should sound before going into the studio. Sure, her press touts that she recorded "Christmas Time (Is Near) at the tender age of 5, and had a band in the studio by the time she was 18. But perhaps more telling are credentials such as her coordinating of the New Jersey Songwriters in the Round, and being a member of ASCAP, the National Academy of Popular Music, and a voting member of the Recording Academy. Sure, there are slackers out there who just sign up for anything for the benefit of their resumes, but given the quality of the songs on this disc, it's fair to say that Ferrara is no glory hound, but rather a gifted singer/songwriter. In fact, as you listen, there's a sense that you're getting overloaded from the denseness of the material. Not to say the songs are heavy, but they are put together so well, mistakes don't happen, there are no glitches, and each song is like a punch to the head, in a good way of course.
Review - Some could easily trap themselves with an album title that seemingly egotistical but Deb Ferrara means nothing by it. In fact you’ll be reading clichés on all of the reviews of her album about how she indeed is “Anything But Ordinary” but now that we have that obvious zinger behind us we can focus on the light soft rock sounds that emanate from her latest album. One could tell that she was anything but ordinary noting that her first single “Christmas Time (Is Near)” was penned at the young age of five. But her recent accomplishments are just as impressive; other than her obviously great pop-rock music, she also is the president of More Good Music, a family owned ASCAP publishing company formed in ’68, as well as the coordinator of “New Jersey Songwriters in the Round”—a monthly songwriter showcase sponsored by BMI and ASCAP—in addition to being a voting member of the Recording Academy. But her music-related projects certainly pale in comparison to her tremendous songwriting ability, which has found her “Go Away” album winning two Billboard songwriting awards among other accolades. Perfection and notoriety go hand in hand in the recording industry and Deb Ferrara is anything but an ordinary exception.
"MuzikMan" Hannaleck-http://www.muzikreviews.com
Deb Ferrara is inspiration to any women that aspires to record indie rock music. Her voice reminded me of several pop-rockers from the 80’s including Belinda Carlise (Go-Go’s) and Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles). Her jangly guitar and sweet vocals lure you in and keep you hypnotized throughout the run of the album.
Tracks like “I Don’t Like It” and “Stupidly Beautiful” should take aim at college radio. I think they would be on a regular rotation in any college radio station. Although her sound leans more towards pop than any other style, there is certain amount of alternative rock that blends in nicely giving her music a chance to have some crossover success.
Deb Ferrara is a multi-talented musical whiz kid that deserves a listen by the people that make relative unknown talent into stars; she has that kind of quality and essence about her. Long live indie rock! You go girl!
Jonathan Widran - Music Connection Magazine - Sept. 13, 2004
Top Cuts: “Stupidly Beautiful,” “I Don’t Like It”
Summary: Ferrara sets the listener’s expectations high with her selfconfident album title, and her crisp, slightly edgy, instantly infectious songs definitely deliver on that promise. Much like Sheryl Crow, Ferrara perfectly balances her tougher electric rock edges with a sweeter acoustic-driven, sometimes countrified side, but her lead vocals — often enhanced by sugary harmonic textures — is clear and emotional where it needs to be.
Matthew Pollesel, Splendid
"Get used to hearing the name Deb Ferrara - chances are, it's going to become a lot better known."
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