Post by erik on Feb 20, 2017 9:58:52 GMT -5
One more example of my shameless self-promotion (although nowhere near as shameless, in my humble opinion, as that of DFD)--a review of Tift Merritt's eighth album Stitch Of The World pn Amazon:
Stitch Of The World (Limited Edition)
5.0 out of 5 stars Eight Straight For Tift, February 20, 2017
This review is from: Stitch Of The World (Limited Edition) (Audio CD)
Certain singers tend to impress you the first time you hear them, and you get hooked.
That is the impression I have had with Tift Merritt, ever since she made her debut fifteen years ago, with her 2002 album BRAMBLE ROSE. From that point to the present, Tift has proven herself to be one of the leading lights, especially among the womenfolk, of the 21st century alt-country/Americana movement; and for my money, she has been the best female artist in any genre to come along in this century. Not only does she bring her own singer/songwriter style to the genre, but she also mixes in the old-school country-rock elements of Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris as well, plus a dose of Maria McKee, mixing those influences to become totally and authentically herself. This continues onward on her eighth album, STITCH OF THE WORLD.
Her first album overall since NIGHT, her early 2013 collaboration with classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein, and her first solo album since her late 2012 release TRAVELING ALONE, STITCH OF THE WORLD was recorded and mixed in the span of four very fast days in Los Angeles, primarily at United Recording Studios, near where Linda recorded some of her earliest country-rock material for Capitol Records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. During that four-year stretch, Tift had become a mother and had seen a lot of the world, including her native spots in Texas and North Carolina, as well as the California coastline; and those experiences form a lot of what is on this album. Much of the material on this album was written by Tift herself, with the exception of “My Boat”, which she adapted from the Raymond Carver poem of the same name, and runs the musical gamut from Bonnie Raitt-influenced blues (“Dusty Old Man”; “Proclamation Bones”) to mystical Americana (“Icarus”, “Stitch Of The World”); and the California country-rock of Linda (“Heartache Is An Uphill Climb”; “Love Soldiers On”). “Something Came Over Me”, in the meantime, seems to show the influence of Emmylou’s 1975 classic “Boulder To Birmingham”. The final three tracks, “Day He Died”, and acoustic versions of “Something Came Over Me” and “Stitch Of The World”, feature her singing with Sam Beam, who co-produced this album with Tift and who has his own music career under the pseudonym Iron & Wine.
As had been the case with TRAVELING ALONE in particular, but all of her albums in general, Tift isn’t ashamed of putting a fair amount of pedal steel guitar, which has become practically non-existent in so many country records of late, especially those of the Bro-Country variety. For this, she relies on Eric Heywood, who worked on TRAVELING ALONE, as well as on sessions for Kathleen Edwards and the Pretenders. His style is less Nashville and closer to the pedal steel musings of Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Dan Dugmore, both of whom worked with Linda in the 1970s.
Like on her previous seven albums, Tift’s music and songwriting on STITCH OF THE WORLD are so unbelievably eclectic. It is a shame that this eclecticism is totally anathema to corporate radio, especially country radio, these days; and that resistance has kept her off the radio, save for NPR and satellite radio. On the other hand, though, if she had to do what was required to get played alongside, say, Taylor Swift or Kelsea Ballerini, she wouldn’t be anywhere near as interesting an artist as she is just doing things her way. And in any case, at the age of 42, she is much too mature and forward looking to fall into that trap.
For the eighth straight time, Tift has made one of the great albums of its year of release. Without question, STITCH OF THE WORLD will end up on my Ten Best list for 2017.
Stitch Of The World (Limited Edition)
5.0 out of 5 stars Eight Straight For Tift, February 20, 2017
This review is from: Stitch Of The World (Limited Edition) (Audio CD)
Certain singers tend to impress you the first time you hear them, and you get hooked.
That is the impression I have had with Tift Merritt, ever since she made her debut fifteen years ago, with her 2002 album BRAMBLE ROSE. From that point to the present, Tift has proven herself to be one of the leading lights, especially among the womenfolk, of the 21st century alt-country/Americana movement; and for my money, she has been the best female artist in any genre to come along in this century. Not only does she bring her own singer/songwriter style to the genre, but she also mixes in the old-school country-rock elements of Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris as well, plus a dose of Maria McKee, mixing those influences to become totally and authentically herself. This continues onward on her eighth album, STITCH OF THE WORLD.
Her first album overall since NIGHT, her early 2013 collaboration with classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein, and her first solo album since her late 2012 release TRAVELING ALONE, STITCH OF THE WORLD was recorded and mixed in the span of four very fast days in Los Angeles, primarily at United Recording Studios, near where Linda recorded some of her earliest country-rock material for Capitol Records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. During that four-year stretch, Tift had become a mother and had seen a lot of the world, including her native spots in Texas and North Carolina, as well as the California coastline; and those experiences form a lot of what is on this album. Much of the material on this album was written by Tift herself, with the exception of “My Boat”, which she adapted from the Raymond Carver poem of the same name, and runs the musical gamut from Bonnie Raitt-influenced blues (“Dusty Old Man”; “Proclamation Bones”) to mystical Americana (“Icarus”, “Stitch Of The World”); and the California country-rock of Linda (“Heartache Is An Uphill Climb”; “Love Soldiers On”). “Something Came Over Me”, in the meantime, seems to show the influence of Emmylou’s 1975 classic “Boulder To Birmingham”. The final three tracks, “Day He Died”, and acoustic versions of “Something Came Over Me” and “Stitch Of The World”, feature her singing with Sam Beam, who co-produced this album with Tift and who has his own music career under the pseudonym Iron & Wine.
As had been the case with TRAVELING ALONE in particular, but all of her albums in general, Tift isn’t ashamed of putting a fair amount of pedal steel guitar, which has become practically non-existent in so many country records of late, especially those of the Bro-Country variety. For this, she relies on Eric Heywood, who worked on TRAVELING ALONE, as well as on sessions for Kathleen Edwards and the Pretenders. His style is less Nashville and closer to the pedal steel musings of Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Dan Dugmore, both of whom worked with Linda in the 1970s.
Like on her previous seven albums, Tift’s music and songwriting on STITCH OF THE WORLD are so unbelievably eclectic. It is a shame that this eclecticism is totally anathema to corporate radio, especially country radio, these days; and that resistance has kept her off the radio, save for NPR and satellite radio. On the other hand, though, if she had to do what was required to get played alongside, say, Taylor Swift or Kelsea Ballerini, she wouldn’t be anywhere near as interesting an artist as she is just doing things her way. And in any case, at the age of 42, she is much too mature and forward looking to fall into that trap.
For the eighth straight time, Tift has made one of the great albums of its year of release. Without question, STITCH OF THE WORLD will end up on my Ten Best list for 2017.
