Tag: Country

Dolly Parton’s Discography – My Tennessee Mountain Home

Early in her career Dolly Parton used her childhood growing up in the mountains as inspiration for songs that dealt honestly with the hardships and struggle faced by poverty stricken families, most famously her song Coat of Many Colors cut to the heart of her sometimes brutal experiences. Dolly also used dark humour to expose the realities of where she came from on songs like ‘In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad), concluding that nothing could convince her to ‘go back and live through it again’.

And yet on her 1973 album ‘My Tennessee Mountain Home’ that is exactly what she did. A concept album about her upbringing, with every song written solely by Dolly for the first time, you might expect another harsh slice of reality bites. Instead her glasses are rose-drenched to the point where you barely recognise the place she sang about previously. Continue reading “Dolly Parton’s Discography – My Tennessee Mountain Home” →

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News: New Bobbie Gentry Boxset Announced

Bobbie Gentry may have long ago disappeared from public life but thankfully her musical legacy lives on. On September 21st a new box set entitled The Girl From Chickasaw County will be released, much to the delight of her many fans. This eight CD collection will include all of her seven studio albums newly remastered, supplemented by over 75 previously unreleased recordings including her ‘lost’ jazz album, outtakes, demos, rarities and a disc of live performances taken from her celebrated series for the BBC (which was released on vinyl as part of Record Store Day earlier this year). Continue reading “News: New Bobbie Gentry Boxset Announced” →

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Album Review: Lori McKenna – The Tree

Trees have long spoken to the souls of poets. Walt Whitman called them ‘palpably artistic, heroic’. Herman Hesse believed ‘Nothing is holier, nothing is more exemplary than a beautiful, strong tree.’ Marianne Moore once wrote a poem to save a tree’s life (it worked). Lori McKenna is a modern poet of American life so it is fitting to see her title her new album after those silent friends whose importance and beauty may sometimes go unnoticed. The Tree tell stories of the internal domestic lives and relationships of your average everyday people who have simple, quiet ambitions – the roots of which grow deep underground, much like these songs themselves. Continue reading “Album Review: Lori McKenna – The Tree” →

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Live Review – Amythyst Kiah @ Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival

Hailing from Johnson City, Tennessee Amythyst Kiah is a contemporary blues and folk singer, with a real connection to the history of Appalachian music. This was the second of her two shows at the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues festival where she has successfully performed for the last three years. The audience in the Piccolo venue were treated to an evening of stories and songs from a troubadour of the highest quality. Continue reading “Live Review – Amythyst Kiah @ Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival” →

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Dolly Parton’s Discography – “My Favourite Songwriter, Porter Wagoner”

Dolly’s tenth studio album released in 1972 was a tribute to her boss and mentor Porter Wagoner, who had also been acting as her uncredited producer and manager since she joined The Porter Wagoner Show in 1967. Dolly’s reasons for recording songs by Porter were outlined in the album notes: ‘Porter has performed many of the songs I have written since I have been associated with him, and it is a great pleasure for me to be able to do this album of his songs.’ My Favourite Songwriter, Porter Wagoner was Dolly’s way of honouring the man who had supported her songwriting and helped shape her career in so many ways. Continue reading “Dolly Parton’s Discography – “My Favourite Songwriter, Porter Wagoner”” →

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Dolly Parton’s Discography – Touch Your Woman

The cover of Dolly’s ninth album Touch Your Woman was markedly different from the childhood portrait of her previous release Coat of Many Colors. On this 1972 release she is pictured wearing a glamorous outfit, reclining amongst a lot of seductive throw pillows. Ok so this might have been pretty tame for the seventies but country music was still conservative so it was significant to have an album with such a suggestive title. In terms of content, the album continues to explore problematic relationships and the difficulties of marriage in a mature and refreshingly honest way. Continue reading “Dolly Parton’s Discography – Touch Your Woman” →

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Dolly Parton’s Discography – Coat Of Many Colors

With hindsight it feels incredible to think that Dolly Parton had to be convinced to record what would become one of her signature songs, ‘Coat of Many Colors’. The song was written on a tour bus in 1969, on the back of a dry cleaning receipt ironically for one of Porter’s Nudie suits (the receipt was eventually framed by Porter and can now be seen at Dollywood) but was not recorded until 1971 on this, her eighth album. Two years might not seem like a long time but Dolly had written and recorded many other songs in the interim. Porter himself actually recorded the first version, with Dolly on backing vocals, but he knew that there was only one singer who could do this song justice – the girl in the song. So why did Dolly hesitate to put this one on tape? To understand the answer we have to go back through the years, once again returning to her childhood in Tennessee. Continue reading “Dolly Parton’s Discography – Coat Of Many Colors” →

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Album Review: Darci Carlson – Darci Carlson

If you like your country music full of attitude and rebel yells then look no further than Seattle singer Darci Carlson. She’s an outlaw, in the true sense of the word: mad, bad and dangerous to know. Maybe some might think it’s an act but this self titled album proves she has enough authentic personality to burn down any room. These nine songs make for an enjoyable riot of a listen. Continue reading “Album Review: Darci Carlson – Darci Carlson” →

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Live Review: Whitney Rose with Martha Healy & Lisa Kowalski @ Glasgow ABC2

Whitney Rose’s wonderful album Rule 62 was one of my favourite releases of last year so I was delighted when she announced a show in Glasgow, her first time ever playing Scotland. And I wasn’t disappointed either as Whitney put on a fun and fabulous show, proving that sometimes music is better when you don’t take yourself too damn seriously. Continue reading “Live Review: Whitney Rose with Martha Healy & Lisa Kowalski @ Glasgow ABC2” →

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