CD Review: Annette Larsson “Leave Me Behind”

After spending time as a singer in several bands, Norway’s Annette Larsson decided she needed to express her own feelings in her own way and so went solo. She came to the United States and made her way to Nashville where she was able to find the ideal situation for the direction she wanted to be headed in.

Annette Larsson’s dream was to create an album of Country music, a genre of music she fell in love with while living in Norway. With the musicians she met in Nashville, Larsson began recording her debut album. Along with Larsson, the rest of the musicians who have brought her music to life include both American and Norwegian musicians who came together to create a unique musical blend that is unmistakably Country while still containing a slight international edge to the music that makes up Larsson’s debut release. That album, entitled Leave Me Behind, is now available.

Leave Me Behind by Annette Larsson begins with the track “Sucks to Be You”. In the song, Larsson sings of breaking free of a relationship that was very one-sided and now being happy to be able to breathe once again. The track begins with a mix of mandolin and violin that combine to create the basis of the music of the track. That musical basis has a very folk-like feel to it before the track transitions to a more modern-day Country feel. The unique musical approach mixed with the lyrics about being an independent woman should easily appeal to listeners of today’s Country music radio formats.

The album continues with the song “Mean As You”. The song features a large amount of modern Country-Rock sound with the electric guitar playing as big a part in the track as the fiddle while still containing an equal amount of classic Country flavor of songs from the late sixties/early seventies. The slight duet sound of Annette Larsson singing with Wes Hightower also gives the track that classic Country flavor familiar to fans of songs that feature duets between Tammy Wynette and George Jones and/or between Dolly Parton and Porter Waggoner.

The feel of the album changes slightly on the title track of the release. “Leave Me Behind” will remind many of music from Bonnie Raitt. The music of the track has a very Bluesy feel to it while still retaining the Country flavor that the listener has become accustomed to from the previous tracks. The Blues/Country combination comes courtesy of the electric guitar from Brent Mason and the steel guitar from Paul Franklin. The alternating of the two sounds from Mason and Franklin along with the addition of the keys from Asbjørn Nørgaard help to give the track a lot of depth to the music of the track and that helps make “Leave Me Behind” one of the highlights of the new release from Annette Larsson.

Annette Larsson’s Leave Me Behind continues with the song “Hot Headed Woman”. The song easily reminds you of something that would have been released by Dolly Parton several years ago. The music has a classic Country style that goes along with lyrics that have a timeless feel to them. This is one of the tracks that prove that Larsson can hold her own in today’s Country music scene.

While “Hot Headed Woman” takes Larsson’s music back to the time of classic Country music, the track “If That Ain’t Country” sounds like something that would definitely fit with today’s Country music radio formats. The song sounds like something that Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood or even Reba McEntire would have recorded for one of their releases.

Like many Country artists, Annette Larsson’s new release also comes complete with a track that could easily end up being a “crossover” track. The song “Leave Me Behind” has just the right sentiment that Country fans, and music fans in general, could get behind. The song could easily fit right beside Dolly Parton’s version of “I Will Always Love You” or Whitney Houston’s version, depending on format.

Throughout the ten tracks that make up Annette Larsson’s album Leave Me Behind, there is plenty of music that will satisfy fans of Country music. And just like Keith Urban before her, Larsson proves that you don’t have to be American to create Country music that sounds authentic.

Reviewer: Matheson Kamin Rating: **** (four stars)

To hear just a taste of Annette Larsson’s music click here.

CD Review: Barbara Gracewood S/T

Within the music industry are a few artists who are influenced so much by the music of the past that they fall in love with that music. One such musician is singer Barbara Gracewood.

Barbara Gracewood recently got together with a band of musicians who were capable of creating a variety of musical styles so that the resulting music created by the musical ensemble had a very full feel to it. With this band, Gracewood recently created a self-titled album of covers in the style of albums like The Classics by Tony Bennett or The Great American Songbook by Rod Stewart.

The self-titled release from Barbara Gracewood begins with the track “Cold Cold Heart”. Having already been one of Hank Williams’ best loved songs when he released it, the track had one life as a Country and Western classic. When Barbara Gracewood and her band took hold of the song, the track took on a totally different feel as the ensemble created a track that feels more like something that Tony Bennett would sing than something from a Country star. The lyrics to the song still contain a certain amount of sadness to them as Barbara Gracewood gives them the emotional feeling they deserve.

Barbara Gracewood’s self-titled release continues with the song “If”. Originally recorded by the band Bread, the song initially had a very laidback soft rock feel to it. While the song still has a bit of that soft rock approach to it, Gracewood’s arrangement of the song adds some of the energy the original hit version by Bread seemed to lack. The version by Barbara Gracewood even outshines the version of the song that was later released by actor/singer Telly Savalas when he did his spoken word version of the tune. Of the three versions of the song that I am aware of, Barbara Gracewood’s version definitely has the most energy to it.

One of the most unusual arrangements of any of the songs included in the 2014 release from Barbara Gracewood has to belong to her version of the song “Torn”. Originally a hit single by Natalie Imbruglia could easily be categorized as pop/rock, Gracewood and her band make the song their won. The track feels as if it had been created by someone like Bonnie Raitt. The song now has a deeper bluesy feel to it. This version is so strong that if Imbrulia had not had her hit version of the composition that is now such a bit part of pop/rock or Top 40 radio formats, this version could easily have made its own history on those same radio stations. As with people like Jimi Hendrix, Manfred Mann and even Link Wray, Barbara Gracewood adds her name to the long list of musicians who have created a cover version to one of Bob Dylan’s songs. Along with the aforementioned musicians who have done covers of songs like “All Along the Watchtower,” “Quinn the Eskimo (Mighty Quinn),” and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” Gracewood adds her version of “Make You Feel My Love” to that list. And just like the others, Gracewood has put her mark on the song. While the original version of the song had an unmistakable Bob Dylan feel to it, the new arrangement for Gracewood takes the song back in time so that it would feel right at home on soft rock formats of the seventies. With this arrangement, both the band and Gracewood sound very relaxed and comfortable while they create a track that truly brings new life to Dylan’s words.

As on the song “Torn” earlier in the release, the track “Come Away with Me” finds Barbara Gracewood and her band creating their own special take on the song made famous by composer Norah Jones. While “Come Away with Me” by Jones has a very jazzy and laidback feel, the version found on this release again finds the band making the song their own. Instead of a jazzy and soothing pace to the music, the ensemble trades the jazzy feel for some blues and creates a track with a bluesy groove to it. The vocals by Gracewood seem to find a balance somewhere between the original jazzy delivery from Jones and the bluesy delivery of the music by Gracewood’s band. The track stands out as one of the strongest moments on the self-titled from Gracewood.

You can tell who a person’s influences are if that person happens to include several songs fronm that influence on their release. One such influence for Barbara Gracewood must be Rhonda Vincent as Gracewood included several tracks from Vincent on her self-titled release. Songs like “The Lucky One” and “Now That I Found You” are absolutely recognizable as part of the playlist for Rhonda Vincent and The Rage. And while the versions of the songs by Rhonda Vincent and the Rage have that undeniable country twang, the versions by Gracewood and her band fall into a more pop-oriented category. The versions of the two tracks that are included on this release as just as well arranged as any of the other tracks that make up the release.

While the ten tracks that make up the self-titled release from Barbara Gracewood come from many different writers with different writing, they all fir together as each arrangement seems to have been done to create one specific style that helps to bind the ten tracks together into one solid release that still features plenty of variety in the music. And although some of the songs are better known than others, they all show off the talents of the musicians involved and most importantly, help show off the talents of one Barbara Gracewood.

As Barbara Gracewood has no videos for any of the songs from this release up on YouTube, check out her CDBaby profile to preview tracks from the album.

 

CD Review: Heather Stewart “What It Is”

With the decision for Heather Stewart to make the entertainment industry her career of choice also came the decision for Stewart to create her own music. Stewart started writing her own songs and Stewart eventually created her first release from 2008 entitled Life of the Party. With the success of that release, Stewart decided to create a new album.
When creating her latest release of What It is, Heather Stewart took her songs into two different studios that had their own histories that made them ideal locations to record, first at the Sound Factory and the second at Sunset Sound, both in Los Angeles. With being in both of these studios, the recording process took on a special vibe that helped add magic to the music.

To help Heather Stewart bring her music to life, Stewart called upon guitarists Blake Mills, Marty Rifkin and Joshua Grange and drummer Aaron Sterling as well as bassist Sean Hurley who has spent time performing with the likes of John Mayer and Vertical Horizon. The resulting sound of Stewart’s music combines elements of musicians like Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow as well as others.

The latest album from Heather Stewart, What It Is, begins with the album’s title track. “What It Is” The track features a slow pace that adds to the blues-flavored music of song. While the song has a very relaxed feel to it, Stewart’s vocal delivery is still very strong. The results are very similar to something that you could easily expect from Bonnie Raitt, with a little less twang to the song.

The pace of the music on What It Is picks up with the next song of “Tell Me Who”. The resulting track has a vibe that could really remind you of something that would have been created by The Traveling Wilburys: the twang of the guitar on the track could easily have come from George Harrison while the lyrics of the song sound like something that would have come from that band’s first album. The opening seconds of the track would have fit with songs like “End of the Line” and “Handle with Care” from The Traveling Wilburys. The track has a very commercial quality to it and the simplicity to the lyrics makes them easy to sing along with. “Tell Me Who” would be an ideal candidate for a single off the album.

With the song “Stand Up,” Stewart lets more than a little of her independent spirit out as she writes a song about being who you want to be. Like other songs before it, “Stand Up” has the appeal and message that could make the track into a definite anthem for women’s rights. The folk-rock music for the track also has mass appeal for all music listeners.

After a track that features a very strong message about being strong, Stewart follows that song with one of the strongest tracks on the album. “Back and Blue” picks up a lot more rock and roll feeling than any of the tracks that came before it. The bass and drums create a very strong beat for the song that seems to take the listener back to a more creative time in the history of rock and roll as the song feels as if it would have fit in with songs from bands that helped would have been part of the British Invasion. The resulting track of “Black and Blue” could easily have been written by The Animals as it has the same type of strong feeling as the song “House of the Rising Sun” has.

Another track off of What It Is that could easily end up being a single is the song “A Little More”. The heartbreaking lyrics about the singer coming to the realization that a relationship is ending are very universal. The song features a very strong twang that comes from the lead guitar on the track. That twang gives the song enough of a Country music feel that the song could easily be a crossover track. It is that “crossover” appeal that makes “A Little More” one of the strongest tracks on What It Is from Heather Stewart.

The new release from Heather Stewart, What It Is, features many different styles in the tracks of the album. With each change in the feel of the album, the listener gets to experience a different side to Stewart’s personality. Those different sides to her personality help make the release very well-rounded and enjoyable to listen to.

Review by Matheson Kamin
Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

To get just a glimpse of Heather Stewart’s new release “What It Is,” which will be released October 8, 2013, here is a video of Stewart performing the title track of the album with guitarist Keaton Simons. CLICK HERE.

CD Review: Lisa Bell “The Italian Project”

Boulder, Colorado is home to Lisa Bell, a singer-songwriter who picks up where other acts like Bonnie Raitt, Carole King, Alison Krauss and Norah Jones left off. Bell’s style seems to incorporate many different aspects from those musicians and combines them into one sound that continuously shifts the ground under the listener’s feet. The always changing feel of Lisa Bell’s music is contained within her new release entitled The Italian Project.

With the new album, Lisa Bell has incorporated a little technology to help bring her music to life. Writing with Lisa Marie Simmons and Bob Story, the tracks that make up the new album were created by the three writers using Skype.

Along with the main three artists of Lisa Bell, Lisa Marie Simmons and Bob Story that created the basis for each song, other musicians help bring the music on the CD to life. On the CD, Lisa Bell is joined by several talented and versatile musicians. Bassist Mario Pagliarulo, drummer Cesare Valbussa, keyboard player Marco Cremaschini and vocalist Christian Codenotti all helped Lisa Marie Simmons with her part of the album as she and the rest of the aforementioned musicians worked on the music in their country of Italy. These International musicians and others from right here in America helped to make The Italian Project the strong album that it is.

The new CD from Lisa Bell of The Italian Project begins with the song “Bring the Love”. “Bring the Love” is a Country-based song that will bring to mind the music of Faith Hill. The track has the same high energy feel to the music that many associate with Hill and her music.

The album continues with the next track of “Come My Way”. While “Bring the Love” has a Country flavor to the song, “Come My Way” has a different feel. The track features a pop sound that has a very commercial “crossover” feel to it. It also contains some powerful guitar playing that helps to add a lot of energy to the song.

With the next track, Lisa Bell sends the music in yet another direction. Part jazz, part R&B, “One Face, One Race” features a smooth jazz feel to the music and that helps to allow Bell’s voice to shine through. The jazzy quality to Bell’s voice on the track proves that she has a definite ability to transition from one musical style to another.

The Italian Project from Lisa Bell stays in a jazzy groove for the next track of “A Brighter Day”. The track takes the listener back in time as the song has a “timeless” sound that feels as fresh today as it would have back in the 1960’s during the days of the Rat Pack. Lisa Bell’s vocals on the track are clear and beautiful. The guitar solo from Bob Story on the track adds a lot of depth to the track and also adds to the jazzy feel of the track.

“Walk with Me” is a track that takes the music on The Italian Project from Lisa Bell in a folk direction. The acoustic guitar, mandolin and bass combine to help form the music of the track. The mandolin playing by Chris Malley and percussion from Chris Sheldon truly gives the song a style that make would any folk music fan happy.

The album once again goes in a very direction with the track “Love Hurts”. The blues-rock music of the track feels very familiar and would fit right in with music from 1980’s radio with the commercial feel of the song. “Love Hurts” is one of the strongest tracks on the album.

Just as the listener finishes one of the hardest rockin’ songs on The Italian Project, Lisa Bell presents one of the most beautiful tracks on the release with the song “Quilt”. The folk-rock track brings to mind artists like John Denver, Gordon Lightfoot or even Peter, Paul and Mary. The simple subject of the quilt once again gives the music a timeless feel.

Lisa Bell brings a little Country music feel back to the album on the track “The Best of Me”. The track sounds like Bell combined the music from “Joy to the World” from Three Dog Night with some Country music flavor.

When listening to The Italian Project from Lisa Bell, the variety in the music for the 11 tracks that make up the release is the first thing you’ll notice. And with each track on the album, the talents of Lisa Bell, Lisa Marie Simmons and Bob Story become more and more evident. No matter what genre of music you like, you’ll find a lot to enjoy on the newest release from Boulder, Colorado’s Lisa Bell.

Click HERE for the video to the song “Walk With Me” from Lisa Bell.