Musician magazine reviews the Kelly Willis in its March issue. The review is glowing. I think the record is very strong as well. ALSO, Westerberg interviewed in same issue. ---Louise Kyme <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Here's a couple of reviews in today's Daily Telegraph. Don't think much > of the Kelly Willis one, although she had a picture with it. > > ---------- > > Steve Earle and the Del McCoury Band > The Mountain (E2/Grapevine) > > Few albums make such a good first impression as Steve Earle's new disc. > It's like an infectious rash you can't leave alone. > > In contrast to the tracks on El Corazon - his maudlin, though terrific > previous album -The Mountain is a collection of catchy bluegrass songs > written by Earle in homage to master bluegrassman Bill Monroe. Each > tune, brilliantly performed by the Texan Del McCoury Band, is a gem, > combining the pacy, individual melodies of banjo, mandolin and fiddle. > > This deceptively simple music is the sound of hillbillies at play, the > sound of pure, genuine country and, as such, finds little favour with > Nashville's rhinestones sophisticates. None of this will bother Earle, > who has spent a lifetime upsetting people. > > Run-ins with authority - from his schoolboy days when he brandished a > sawn-off shotgun in class to the time he was jailed for assaulting a > policeman - have often been reflected in the angry, rock-tinged songs > about the plight of working men. > > Behind all this is the pain of songwriting, which he has likened to > living with a wild animal: "It's that unexplainable force that causes > you to be depressed. As long as the Beast is there, I know I will always > write." > > He's still writing, better than ever, and, in shifting from blue-collar > to bluegrass with these cheery, hand-clapping songs, it appears he's > tamed that Beast. > > > > Kelly Willis > What I deserve (Rykodisc) > > Kelly Willis's voice is described as "mellow" by her publicists, and it > is true that on the weaker tracks here she lives down to this > uninspiring tag. Her voice is soothing, but also bland and soporific on > the below-average love songs written by her husband, Bruce Robison. > > Elsewhere, though, it is throaty, raw and full of character. On tracks > such as Take Me Down, about a lousy boyfriend, and Dan Penn's Real Deep > Feeling, the singing is strong enough to stand comparison with the > muscular performance of someone such as Wynonna. > > In the five years since her previous full-length album, the Austin-based > singer writer and guitarist has changed styles. On this, her forth > record, she's ditched the honky tonk and the Texas rockabilly and blues > in favour of more mainstream material. > > The best track is her own Talk Like That, a nostalgic look back at > family ties. It is a wistful reminder of what a good country song is > meant to be: a poignant story well told. > > ------------------- > > > Louise > -- > > If you like rocking country music, check out the Okeh Wranglers web site > at: > > http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/bluesmoke > > _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
