Vince Gill, Guitar Slinger (2011)

aka Nashville artist #2

Vince Gill makes me happy in the face. This album is the Nashville of my dreams. Although he was actually born in Oklahoma (I'm forgiving him this because there happens to be another Oklahomeboy of whom I'm pretty fond) he's been in Nashville since '83 and while we're there he'll be playing the Ryman. (No, I can not afford to go.) 

This album opens with a huge blast of energy before bringing it down a notch or four (perhaps something Sarah Siskind could learn from...) And while it's country music, it's also a 1950s rock n roll bar (see 'All Nighter Comin''), it's jazz and soul and gospel ('Buttermilk John') and blues ('When The Lady Sings the Blues'). There's ballads ('Threaten Me With Heaven',) and there's honky tonk (the title track.) And while the album is cohesive and unified it initially moved so quickly and diversely that I barely had time to keep up. I lovedit. 

I read one review which stated "this album shows the grey in his hair" - and perhaps that's exactly what I liked it about. This was classic and yea, I could hear '90s influences (such as in 'Tell Me Fool', 'Who Wouldn't Fall in Love with You' - incidentally what drew me the most about this was the beautiful delicate female vocals by Ashley Monroe - and 'Threaten Me') which I'm pretty sure weren't ironic. I'm not saying I didn't get a bit bored in the latter example, and I wouldn't want to listen to an entire album of '90s ballads, but thankfully this wasn't; it had opened with such energy and continued with enough diversity that it kept me interested. The album is called "Guitar Slinger", and it's the work of an enormously talented guitarist - most often those quieter ballads give way to face-melting guitar solos, and that kind of makes them worthwhile. 

It was, evidently, five years in the making, and it is a big album - not just in epicness, but also in length; it's over an hour comprised of 15 big tracks. Once I'd settled into it - about track 7 - it became a very easy album to listen to. It is a classic country album; it was an easy listen, and I really enjoyed it. 

Sarah Siskind, Novel (2011)

aka Nashville Artist #1 

I picked this artist first because I read a review that likened her to my beloved Gillian Welch - always bound to be an extreme compliment, or some form of sacrilege. Or, in this case, somewhere in between. I settled in to listen to this album as I made some delicious Christmas cookies - a gentle listen in a bright kitchen as I enjoyed my 'me time'. Delightful.

Siskind does not consistently have the same haunting, ethereal quality that makes Gillian Welch such a phenomenal singer-songwriter. But she does have a powerful, crystal clear voice and at times, such as in the lovely 'Feeling for You', she does demonstrate that beautiful eery sound and clever use of minor chords. The soul-inspired 'Rescue You' also has a wonderful Gillian-esque quality to it too - an excellent track, and probably my pick of the album. Or was, until I heard 'Didn't it Rain' - a real boot stomper, almost sort of gospel-ish, driven by wild steel strings and earthy vocals. Wow!

'Crying on a Plane' hit a little close to home for this weary traveller - a beautiful, soulful ballad driven by deep piano, a truly lovely song. 'Nowhere in the Middle' was actually very Martha Wainwright to me, right down to the very literal lyrics. It wasn't until spotify skipped me over to her earlier, 2008 album, 'Say it Louder' - which I definitely preferred - that I realised Siskind has a much more Martha quality to her than she does Gillian. But unlike Martha, whose literal lyrics all just seem to fit, my main issue with this 2011 Siskind album is that sometimes the lyricism is just a bit clumsy and awkward. And detached. Maybe that's what she's aiming for, but it sort of feels a bit like she's aiming too hard. And while I like her interesting timing, her soul-y, jazz-y take on folk, for me sometimes the songwriting doesn't always click. I'd love to hear her just chill out a bit.

Ultimately, comparisons (others this artist draws are Joni Mitchell - much more to the mark - and Carly Simon) are unfair and do no one the justice they deserve. She has a beautiful voice, knows her way round a guitar, and many of the tracks were "growers" - my second and third listens were definitely more enjoyable. There's no denying 'Novel' contains some real gems - I mean seriously, 'Didn't It Rain' is something truly special - but personally I don't think the album is arranged to display them to their full potential - there's too much wading through awkwardness to get to the tracks that really click. That said, if I walked into a bar tomorrow and paid 10 bucks to see an acoustic Sarah Siskind show, I have no doubt that I would walk away thinking I had heard something truly remarkable. As for the album: liked it, didn't love it.  

Nashville!

In a week (only 7 sleeps, people!) we are going on a little winter vacation that will end up in none other than NASHVILLE. Nashville's been #1 on my list of Must-Visit places ever since I arrived in the US, and now the lovely American has made it happen. I am beyond excited.

I've been watching the ABC show named for the city recently and I love it. Scandal, sex, politics and country music - it's the perfect storm for a TV show, in my view. (More on pop culture in my next post.) 

So between watching this truly excellent show, getting very excited for our vacation, and wanting to educate myself a bit, I have been inspired to use the blog to  look at one Nashville artist every weekday until we leave. By my reckoning that should come out as a sort of Top 5 Nashville artists. I love country music, but I'm very definitely still learning it, so any suggestions will be most welcome.