Patty Loveless

Patty Loveless started something back in 2001 with the release of her original "Mountain Soul" album. It was a tribute to her coal miner dad who died from Black Lung disease. The album was totally true to her background as a coal miner's daughter. It just sang with the sounds of the mountains of Eastern Kentucky where she grew up. It's an album that's more authentic country than most anything you'll hear on the radio these days. This came at what became a departure point for her from the radio friendly country she became famous for and landed her squarely in the middle of true to life down home Bluegrass tinged Appalachian music! She hasn't looked back since. The albums you see above all reflect that real country sensibility and were neatly book-ended with her "Mountain Soul II" album last year, the one pictured at the bottom. While the three in the middle were less acoustic than the two Mountain Soul albums, they all take their place as throw backs to a simpler time when country was the sound that influenced rock and roll instead of the other way around. She's hit a sweet spot for me. I just love the sound of it all. I got to see her perform in person this past summer. She played to an outdoor crowd of approximately 8,000 folks in of all places Roosevelt, Utah. It really was a perfect setting for pure country music. You don't find yourself much farther out in the country than that! The crowd was obviously familiar with her popular stuff, but the more rootsy material that I adore was also much appreciated. Truth being said, even her country pop was pretty close to traditional. She was one of the wave of neo-traditional artists who came out in the late 80's and early 90's like George Strait, Ricky Skaggs and Alan Jackson. There must have been some other female artists in that same category, but none come to mind just now. Maybe it's because she really is pretty unique and occupies a place few others could challenge. Maybe Loretta Lynn, but I dunno! Whatever, she has a voice and a style I adore she's pretty timeless and her stuff will never wear thin, so hats off to one of my favorites, Patty Loveless! As usual, click on her name in the header to be taken to her website. BTW, the latest "Mountain Soul" is wonderful. Check out "Diamond in My Crown" with Emmylou Harris. Mmmm, Mmmm!!!

Cherie Call

 

One of the finest of our local artists is Cherie Call. Self penned songs such as "Believe", "Gifts", "Memphis", "One Good Woman" and "Holding On" have become classics to her many fans. The acoustic version of "Holding On" is particularly fine. Cherie"s been on the scene for quite awhile. I first heard her many years ago at Provo city's down town Freedom Festival. We'd go down to the court house to watch the 4th or July parade and for many years there were musical acts on stage at the court house grounds. That's where I first became acquainted with her work and while I didn't pay a whole lot of attention that day, I made a mental note to check into her stuff more thoroughly. That took quite awhile coming and didn't really happen until I was listening to a Christmas broadcast on FM100 a few years ago where she was featured. At some point in the concert one of the MCs asked if she had written anything new recently. She said she'd written a new song the night before but was hesitant to perform it in public. Well, after much coaxing and cajoling she finally relented and sang "Broken Hearts Like Mine" for the very first time in front of an audience. It was what you could only describe as a "moment". You could tell even from listening to the radio that the audience and hosts were stunned. I was driving at the time and almost had to pull over to keep from wrecking the car. That song deeply touched every heart that heard it that day. Awesome experience! From what I've just written you'd have to say I consider Cherie one the best song writers around and that'd be the truth! Cherie's latest offering is an album called "Grace". As the name implies you'd conclude that there were some Christian themes included. If you know Cherie you'd know that she doesn't stray too far from songs of faith, hope, love and family. That's exactly where this album goes and does it very well indeed! I consider this album her finest, taken as a whole. The consistency of it, the quality of the song writing, singing and production put it in a place where few of Nashville's finest are capable of going. Gotta love it! Favorite tracks are: "Grace Is Amazing", "Walk You Through the Night", "Hurricanes" and "River of Tears". "River of Tears" is a noteworthy re-write of a very old song from the British Isles, "The Water Is Wide". She adds a whole new dimension to a song of love, even tragic love in some of its incarnations, totally re-working it into a song of faith. Lovely and amazing! For more info check out her website by clicking on her name at the top of this post. Happy listening!

Eva Cassidy

Seems like high time I got to one of my ultimate favorite singers, Eva Cassidy. I believe her story is fairly well known and has been told many times and in many places by people far more able than me, but I'll touch on some of the important aspects of her story and refer the reader to other locations if more info is desired. Eva spent her entire life in the Washington, D. C. area and really only received the kind of local notice you expect of someone with her talent in the latter years of her short life. Eva died from metastatic melanoma at the age of 36. During her lifetime she never received national or world wide notice which probably suited her fine since she was extremely shy. She finally landed a record deal just before her passing, record executives having previously recognised her talent, but being put off by her eclecticism. Her compilation album, "Songbird" went platinum in the U. K. after her rendition of "Over the Rainbow" got air play on the BBC. Her subsequent releases have all sold well across the pond, but her popularity in the U. S. has been a slow process. Many people think a movie based on her life which has been talked about for a number of years will be the catalyst to really launch her to the top of the charts on this side of the pond. I'm here to let you folks in on great artists that don't receive the attention they deserve, so here's  a secret to chew on: Eva Cassidy is very possibly the greatest interpreter of popular vocal music in the last century! A bold statement indeed, but I'm sticking by it. Perhaps the best evidence is her latest album recently released by Blix Street Records, "Simply Eva", which as the title suggests is an album featuring Eva's vocals with minimal backing. In this case the accompaniment is supplied by Eva herself playing solo guitar, providing ample evidence of her outstanding talent as a guitarist. This album features the Blues Alley version of "Over the Rainbow" which I find beautiful beyond description! The audio in the attached vid is the same recording. Being a lover of vocals over accompaniment I rate "Simply Eva" as my personal favorite of the 8 albums Blix has released and give it a hearty recommendation!

Probably the best source for all things Eva is this website run by Eva's cousin, Laura Bligh: http://evacassidy.org/eva/

To Eva:

You left in autumn
The leaves were falling.
I see your sweet smile
I hear your laughter.
The joy you give me lives on and on,
Cause I know YOU by heart!