Ellen ten Damme is best known to the general public for her role in the advocacy series Pleidooi, the commercials for Zwitserleven and her weekly column 'Where is Ellen ten Damme' for the Volkskrant. The album I Am Here (the answer to her column?) Is her first official solo debut - apart from a 1995 according to Ellen - in which she is assisted by drummer Michel Schoots (ex- ), keyboardist ,
… guitarist JB Meyers (ex- ) and (ex- ) on bass guitar. However, despite all the great musicians in the world, massive advertising campaigns and the overwhelming number of television and other interviews, I Am Here does not live up to expectations. The album contains a number of dynamic songs (Rain Roses, Gadget) but does not last very much. Whether that is due to Ellen's vocals (most comparable to someone like ) is doubtful because her voice sounds powerful and strong. Rather, it is the compositions that could use a little more coherence. The album also contains an example of how that should be done: the catchy single It Ain't Easy, which every butcher's boy whistles along. (BP)more