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Record of the Week # 167

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Trisha Yearwood – The Mirror

Legacy artists obviously still release records but, notably, Yearwood and her record label have invested an immense amount of effort into promotion, a tour, a torrent of social media and wider outlet coverage. This, I think, is due to her ambition and pride with this release. It’s a ‘record of letters to her former self’ and she’s co-written all the songs and joined in with the production. This is the first time she’s been actively involved as a songwriter. That change is due in part to her later life confidence and reassessment of her capability to write music.

After bestriding the 1990s as one of the major female country artists with a string of hit singles and chart topping albums then inevitably, despite continuing releases, her importance and profile waned as the sound moved on. Nevertheless, her importance has barely dimmed for many of her fanbase and her catalogue of timeless songs endures. To return with such an album of self penned creations was a risky affair compared to hiring the best songwriters in town and chucking in a duet with Shaboozey or Jelly Roll. There are some duets here but they complement rather than act as a crass promotional instrument.

Lyrically it’s familiar territory: the duet with Jim Lauderdale, The Shovel, is advice to a husband who misread his wife’s question for an opinion rather than just affirmation or dwelling too long on the tanned legs of a rival. The digging tool should be dropped rather than used for a deeper hole! With similar humour Hailey Whitters joins for Drunk Works to share the joy of imbibing despite the hangover. Both sounds are timeless and redolent of the 90s. This will delight the many who still reach for her CDs. A familiar theme of more mature female country artists is the promotion of a steely resolve that they’ve developed after years of marginalisation. Fearless These Days asserts her now loud and confident point of view where once it was hidden. Bringing The Angels is another declaration of assertion – “You’d better roll up your sleeves / ‘Cause you ‘bout to see the fighting side of me”. It comes with a full rock band and full throttle vocals. In fact the voice is still an instrument of power, beauty and expression.

After the adrenaline there’s a few songs where she turns down the volume and slows the pace. The Mirror shows the beauty of her voice with harmonies and a sing-along melody (it could be 1991…)  and So Many Summers and Goodbye Cruel World go acoustic and she captivates and draws you in. Again the lyrics tell stories of a character’s life journey and their growing wisdom.

We hanker for a return to form for our favourite artists and want respect for the traditions of the genre. If you can allow the 90s to count as a golden age of country, as I can, then you’ll love this release.

Record Of The Week # 166

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James McMurtry – The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy

It’s four years since his last album and so when this dropped in the Inbox I was delighted. I’d include him in a list of top singer songwriter poets. His lyrics are often first person stories or pithy observations of the old, weak, downtrodden or deluded seemingly inhabiting the fly over States or fringes of the Union. The language is roughhewn with stinging yet honest depictions of his characters where even the good are often subsumed by their faults. These actors exist in plots where they seem to have little control or have probably ceased caring.

The title track needs explaining: it’s inspired by his late father’s dementia induced hallucinations and the album sleeve drawing is an old sketch he found. The dialogue, I take, is his father’s understanding of the here and now. Returning to a McMurtry theme there are songs where he paints a derisive view of bullies. Here the villains may be corporations, lawyers or his favourite bêtes noires, Republican politicians. Frankly, after Trump’s first term I became weary of 60 something artists seemingly entering therapy on vinyl and unloading their anger, but at least McMurtry, with craft and guile, places the listener in a plot and gently reveals his views rather than clumsily railing. Annie is an unusual lyric set in the aftermath of 9/11 where George W Bush gets portrayed as feckless and incapable of dealing with the situation. Sons of the Second Sons, as the titles suggests, is about the disinherited and disenfranchised who built America, fought its wars and provide the backbone that are, he asserts, the manifest strengths of the USA. Yet, they’re misled by flags and border walls.

If not finding villains he’s ruminating on the everyday such as the grind of touring. Sailing Away gives a snapshot of what he’s thinking as he stands on stage: “Tryin’ to remember, did I lock the front door? And have I any business bеin’ in this business anymore?” As he navigates his mid-sixties he dwells on ageing; South Texas Lawman tells about the demise of an old police officer who’s out of time with the modern world and current policing. His coping mechanism has been the bottle but we’re left with the lawman reaching the end of his tether and maybe his life.

If I’m painting a downbeat picture of McMurtry’s world then a contrast is the music. He’s brought back Don Dixon who helped produce his 1995 Where’d You Hide The Body? to freshen up his approach and it’s paid off. Tunes are aplenty with memorable choruses. Conventional rock sits tight and lively behind gruff and hard vocals that can carry a tune yet are most memorable for their conversational delivery where he inhabits the characters in the stories.

McMurtry seems a ‘take it or leave it’ kind of guy. He’s ploughed this furrow for decades and accumulated a wonderful catalogue of records that fans of, say, Dylan, Earle and Prine will own. Like these luminaries he can compile a lyric that stays with you as you continue to savour the couplets, character assassinations and their usually dysfunctional lives. I love the old curmudgeon and let’s hope it’s not another four years before he troubles my Inbox.

Record Of The Week # 165

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Mary Chapin Carpenter – Personal History

Carpenter’s name has been in circulation of late: touring and an album with Karine Polwart and Julie Fowlis, a US nationwide tour in the offing with Brandy Clark and now her 17th studio album released in June. For an artist into her seventh decade with a lifetime of accumulated awards there’s no slowing down or a desire to stop travelling. This album was recorded near Bath in Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios. She likes these shores.

Her gift for couplets and story telling remain intact and a hallmark that elevates her work. Over the 11 tracks there’s an acoustic vibe although the instrumentation is varied. The songs are reflective and personal about her life or imagined scenarios where she’s singing in the first person or observing at a distance. If you followed her during Covid you’ll have enjoyed her kitchen concerts on Instagram where she worked through her catalogue and fussed about her Golden Retriever, Angus. Girl and Her Dog revisits her current peacable and simple life at home and the constant presence of the mutt. This vocal, like the rest of the album is delivered with her warm and on occasion, slightly breathless intimacy. She seldom raises her voice but with the appearance of brass in The Saving Things she matches the loud backing and it’s a refreshing switch. 

Bitter Ender starts with harmonica and immediately hits a groove. The song contains her best melody on the album. Lyrically it returns to a common theme throughout of loneliness, introspection, struggle and regret – ‘Once in a while the universe smiles / Lets you think that you’re in on the joke / The plans that you made /And the life that you craved /Now it’s all going up in smoke”.  (The video is fabulous and worth a peek.) The Night We Never Met is a clever lyric that identifies scenes of love and companionship that never happened. The accompanying piano plays along to a rhythm created by brushes on the snare. Say It Anyway has a beautiful spaced piano accompaniment allows her lyric to appear as clear as an opening in a forest – “The storms of life will always toss us on their waves / Wherever there’s a lighthouse there’s a light that saves”.

Her legion of long time fans will be delighted and need to know that this is a continuation of her recent sounds, pace and melody. Fill your boots. However, I suppose I loved her 90s work more and some of the exuberance and feisty attitude that’s missing here ensured songs such as He Thinks He’ll Keep Her, I Feel Lucky andPassionate Kisses are still on my iPhone playlists. Her view nowadays seems to be via the rear view mirror rather than the windscreen. That aside class is permanent and this is a fine release.

Record Of The Week #164

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Sierra Hull – A Tip Toe High Wire

Folk/roots musicians are getting more mainstream recognition of late. Billy Strings, Rhiannon Giddens and Molly Tuttle come to mind but Hull could easily join this pantheon. Her talent on the mandolin, with an attractive voice, has already garnered awards but she’s not prolific and this is her first album in five years. Here she’s written or co-written ten songs and co-produced this acoustic record as a self release. Often the decision to release an album independently is the artist’s only option but after decades on Rounder Records Hull wanted the freedom that route gave her.

On A Tip Toe High Wire she’s added tunes that aren’t solely from a pure roots tradition and it’s lifted the whole experience. The intricacy and deftness of bluegrass in the musicianship, however, has been maintained. The quality of the playing strikes you immediately and Hull has used her touring band in the studio. Their empathy and familiarity with each other are evident as the solos and arrangements seem organic to the structure. Let’s Go is as intricate as a piece of jazz with different paces and rhythms. Her vocals, back in the mix, enable you to focus on some sensational playing. Come Out Of My Blues is a positive lyric about seizing the day. It catches fire after her initial verse. Tim O’Brien (Hot Rize) helps out and the band cut a rug with some memorable fiddle from Avery Merritt.

From earlier in her recording career she attributes her growing confidence to lead a band to advice from Béla Fleck, who urged her to step forward. On E Tune, as one of her heroes and influences, he joins the band on banjo for this instrumental. Again a sophisticated rhythm grabs your attention and the drama builds as the song progresses. She’s a capable lyricist and takes inspiration from her family. Spitfire is a homage to her grandmother who’s triumphed through many adversities. Muddy Water is a beautiful ballad that reminds you, for its gossamer wing fragility, of Alison Krauss. It’s a sweet melody that her voice nails and its lyric of finding strength within ourselves, when the time comes, captures a sentiment of support and affection that runs through many of the compositions. Not least she brings her mandolin to the fore whilst Erik Caveney, on bass, anchors the whole piece. Similarly, Redbird is a cathartic melodic starburst that arrives toward the end of the album. I have to repeat myself and say that if you’re a fan of Alison Krauss this is another track you’ll love.

This release is very much a collaborative affair, which summarises Hull’s approach and I’ve found the whole album gives up more on repeated listens. It seems I have one for my end of year list already.